


Universal Vampire Rewrite

by NicholasFlamelFan



Series: Universal Vampire Rewrite [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Meddling TARDIS, Reveal, Time Travel, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-10-04 17:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 73,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20474753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicholasFlamelFan/pseuds/NicholasFlamelFan
Summary: The Doctor found a new companion who travels along with him and Rose. What would change if he took a vampire on board of the Tardis? An Original vampire nevertheless? Will they fall in love or will she fall for someone else instead?





	1. Rose

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter of the rewrite. I was told this is already better than the last version, so let's hope you think so too.
> 
> I just hope the grammar and spelling aren't too bad. I'm on my phone but will check the chapter once I get my laptop back from it being repaired.
> 
> Please tell me what you think of this version.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter of the rewrite. I was told this is already better than the last version, so let's hope you think so too.
> 
> I just hope the grammar and spelling aren't too bad. I'm on my phone but will check the chapter once I get my laptop back from it being repaired.
> 
> Please tell me what you think of this version.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

Tyra was sitting on a bannister at the north bank of the Thames right next to the RAF monument, thinking about her next moves. It's been over a century since she had seen her siblings last. After the last time she had gotten undaggered in 1901, Tyra ran. The promise Niklaus had made to her and Kol was worthless. Every time she had gotten daggered had been because she didn't want to go on.

Tyra had always been a bit different than her siblings in the sense that she wasn't quite as easy to anger. Mostly because she couldn't care less about anyone or anything. She tried switching off her humanity countless times but it never worked. The deep, aching pain that radiated from her broken twin bond was the remains of the connection her and Henrik had when he was still alive. It was always there, like an open wound in the background.

The Original startled when a sort of wheezing groan filled the air. Tyra watched with wide eyes as a blue telephone box from the sixties appeared out of nowhere. Like, literally nowhere. Tyra blinked in surprise. While she had seen a lot in her thousand years, teleportation – or whatever that was – was something out of a fiction book. Even for her. It was something new.

A man stormed out of the box before Tyra could even think about giving in to her curiosity. He looked around and sighed in annoyance "I lost the signal," he huffed "And I got so close…"

"We've moved," a blonde girl gasped, stumbling over to where the vampire was still sitting, clutching at the railing "Does it fly?"

"I doubt it," Tyra spoke up, jumping from her perch "How did it just appear? And what was that noise?"

The Doctor waved them off, barely even reacting to the presence of the second girl. She probably wouldn't be here much longer. Humans tended to run when they were scared, so he put her out of his mind "Disappears here and reappears there. You wouldn't understand."

"If we're somewhere else, what about the headless thing? It's still on the loose," Rose gasped worriedly.

"It melted with the head," the Doctor shrugged absentmindedly "Are you going to witter on all night?"

Tyra was watching the two argue with her eyebrows raised. Head? Melted? What were they on about? The question was itching to get out but she resolved to stay quiet for the moment. She turned her head to look at the blonde next to her when the girl let out a choked sob "I'll have to tell his mother." When the Time Lord looked over at her in confusion, she continued, her tone now bordering on anger "Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother he's dead and you just went and forgot him again. You were right, you are an alien."

"Alien?" Tyra asked in surprise. Whether it was at the thought of aliens existing or the fact that her mouth ran away with her, she didn't know. Probably the first.

"You're still here," the Doctor noted in surprise.

Tyra shrugged with a grin "I want to know what your box is. You didn't seem inclined to answer, so I guess I'll have to stick around to find out."

The Doctor opened his mouth before snapping it closed. And here he thought Rose was determined. If the roles had been reversed, he didn't know whether he would have stayed "And you are?"

"Tyra," the Original introduced herself. There was no way she would tell the man her last name. Not until she knew more. Whatever that box was, Tyra was a little wary about it. Something niggled at the back of her mind. She felt like she had seen it before but that was impossible, right? Even if the man was supposedly an alien. Was there time travel where he was from? Or was he immortal like her?

The Doctor grinned "Nice to meet you, Tyra. I'm the Doctor."

"If you're really an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?" Rose questioned, looking over at the other girl "I'm Rose, by the way."

"Lots of planets have a north," the Doctor shrugged.

"What's a police public call box?"

Tyra was the one who answered "It's a phone box from the 50s and 60s."

"It's a disguise," the Doctor added, throwing the dark-haired girl a curious look before shaking his head. She was probably just interested in History or something. Nothing special.

"Okay," Rose blinked "And this – this living plastic. What's it got against us?"

The Doctor shook his head "Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth, dinner."

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose questioned.

"Anti-plastic," the Doctor grinned, waggling his eyebrows as he pulled out a tube of blue liquid.

Rose tilted her head, gaping at the man a little "Anti-plastic."

"Anti-plastic," the Doctor agreed "But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" He frowned and turned to Tyra "And… You're still here."

Tyra shrugged "I'm interested. This is far more interesting than wallowing in self-pity or my thoughts… or both."

"Hold on," Rose exclaimed "Hide what?"

"The transmitter," the Doctor pointed out "The consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

Rose nodded in understanding "What's it look like?"

"Like a transmitter." Was the unhelpful reply she got "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London. A huge circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel… Radial. Close to where we're standing." The man finished his explanation, turning his back to the London Eye. In front of him, the two girls exchanged glances and shrugged "Must be completely invisible."

Tyra snorted "Yeah, completely," she agreed sarcastically "Doctor, think. We're in London. What's huge and circular in the middle of London?"

"What?" he frowned.

"Oh God," she groaned, shaking her head in exasperation. Hopefully, he wasn't always as oblivious as this. This could get old really fast "Just turn around, would you?"

The Doctor did as asked but whirled around yet again "What?" He turned again when he saw that both Rose and Tyra were staring at something "What is it?" One more turn was all it took for him to catch on "Oh. Fantastic." He grabbed the girls' hands, pulling them with him over to the Westminster Bridge "Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables…"

"The breast implants," Rose added jokingly.

Tyra shuddered at the mental image "Really? Did you really have to give me that image? That is kind of disturbing."

The Doctor looked like he was ready to agree but instead of commenting, he just hummed "Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

Rose leaned over the edge of the bridge "What about down there?" She pointed to a large manhole entrance at the bottom of some steps.

"Looks good to me," the Doctor shrugged and ran down with the two girls right behind him.

Tyra grinned internally. This was getting more interesting by the minute. She was really glad that she didn't just walk away from the man. They climbed down a short ladder into a brick-built area with lots of chains. From there, they went through a door and further down a flight of steps into a large chamber. Tyra wrinkled her nose at the stench of plastic, fear and something she couldn't quite place.

"The Nestene Consciousness," the Doctor whispered, gesturing to the mound of plastic goo in the vat "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

Tyra wrinkled her forehead "You said that before but how can plastic be alive? Isn't it just… I don't know… material?"

"Compound," the Doctor pointed out "Plastic is made from synthetic organic compounds."

"That's just weird," she complained quietly before Rose spoke up again.

"Well, then," Rose murmured, thoroughly weirded out by the goo. It looked disgusting and the smell was almost just as bad "Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go.

The Doctor stared at her "I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance." He jogged down to a catwalk that overlooked the seething vat "I seek an audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation."

The Consciousness inside the vat flexed, looking almost like that one time Kol tried to make pudding. Tyra let out a snort of amusement as the memory resurfaced. Just before they had gotten daggered in the 1800s, Kol tried to cook something and only a maid's quick action stopped him from blowing up the house.

"Thank you," the Doctor continued "If I might have permission to approach?"

Rose gasped and ran over to the side where a boy was watching everything with wide, fearful eyes "Oh God. Mickey, it's me. It's okay," she soothed "It's alright."

"That thing down there," Mickey gasped "The liquid. Rose, it can talk."

"You're stinking," Rose laughed, totally unconcerned now that she knew that Mickey was alive "Doctor, they kept him alive."

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder "Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy."

"You knew that and you never said?" Rose demanded.

"Can we keep the domestics outside?" the Doctor groaned, continuing his way closer to the Consciousness "Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect that you shunt off?" Tyra let out an amused huff, trying to figure out what it – the Nestene had said to the man. So far she was coming up blank but then a sort of face formed in the vat, a groaning noise coming from it "Oh, don't give me that," the Doctor bit out "It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights… I am talking. This planet is just starting. The stupid little people have only learned how to walk but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go."

"Doctor," Rose called out in alarm as two shop window dummies grabbed the Doctor from behind.

"That was just insurance," he protested as one of the dummies took the vial of anti-plastic from him "I wasn't going to use it. I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not…" He paused with a puzzled look "What do you mean?" A door slid back to reveal the Tardis, causing the Doctor to pale "No. Oh, no. Honestly no. Yes, that's my ship." He paused for a moment "That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world. I couldn't save any of them."

Rose looked over "What's it doing?"

"It's the Tardis," the Doctor explained "The Nestene has identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion. Get out Rose, Tyra… Just leg it now."

Tyra looked on as the vat kept roaring. Over the noise it was making, she could hear Rose calling her mother of all people. What could she do? She snuck closer, gracefully jumping over the railing to land behind the Doctor and the two dummies holding him. One kick and the left dummy was falling into the vat, barely releasing the Doctor in time. At the same time as the other fell, the vial of anti-plastic tipped over, spilling onto the Nestene Consciousness.

"Thanks," the Doctor breathed, pulling Tyra over to the two humans and the box "Now we should leave." He pushed Rose and Mickey into the Tardis and closed the door behind the four of them.

The same noise Tyra heard earlier, sounded again but this time all around her as the interior kept shaking. She barely stopped a gasp from escaping her at the sight in front of her. It was smaller on the outside than on the inside. How this room managed to fit into the small phone box was a riddle.

The shaking stopped as soon as it began and Mickey stumbled out of the door with Rose and Tyra just behind him "Nestene Consciousness." The Doctor clicked his fingers "Easy."

"Is what world was that easy?" Tyra questioned, raising her eyebrow at the man leaning against the doorway of the Tardis "You were trapped."

"You're right," he nodded "Thank you. Right then, I'll be off, unless – er – I don't know, you could come with me. Both of you." He gestured over his shoulder "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

Tyra hummed. So it was a spaceship. No time machine? "Is it always like that?" she asked "And I mean the running."

"Yeah," the Doctor shrugged. Rose licked her lips reluctantly "Yeah, I can't," she mumbled, looking down at her boyfriend "I've got to go and find my mum and someone's got to look after this stupid lump, so…"

The Doctor nodded in disappointment "Okay. What about you then?"

"You met me about an hour ago and you want me to come with you?"

"You kept your head," he pointed out "That's good enough to warrant at least one trip."

Tyra let out a breath, her mind jumping over itself. This was the perfect way to go out of her siblings' way. She was aware that she had overstayed here in London and if she wasn't careful Niklaus or Elijah would find her. That was something she wanted to avoid. Returning to wherever they stayed with a dagger in her chest, wasn't an experience she wanted to have again. Not now. Not when she still had so much to do "Alright then. I'm in."

The Doctor held his hand out for the girl to take and pulled her into the Tardis, immediately pulling some levers "You didn't say it…"

"Say what?"

"You know," he gestured "It's bigger on the inside."

Tyra smirked a little at his disappointment "I saw this box appear out of thin air, I'm really not surprised."

The Doctor froze "I forgot something. Hold on." He worked on the console and ran to the door, throwing it open. Tyra could just catch a glimpse of the surroundings around him. He was back in

London where he left Rose "By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?"

"No," Tyra whispered to herself "No, you didn't." But it made so much more sense. So this really was the box she had seen back when… She furrowed her forehead. When had she seen it again? Something had happened but Tyra couldn't remember what exactly lead to her seeing the box. Maybe there was more than one, though. She would find out later. About what the Doctor knew and how it was possible that he could travel in time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on changing quite a few things as you'll see in this chapter. Rose won't be a bitch from the beginning. Well, the other changes, you'll see as I continue.
> 
> I'm glad that you liked this version here more. I will delete the other stuff I have up once I caught up but I might think about making a Yahoo group (if you're interested) for those who want to have the stories that I deleted. The ones that I have in PDF form in any case. Not just Universal Vampire but also the older stories that weren't too good. Like Constant Companion (which I might rewrite in the future too), Nova's Vampire Diaries, Lost Child etc.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Right then, Rose Tyler, Tyra… What is your last name?" the Doctor frowned.

Tyra hesitated for a moment, glancing over her shoulder at the man. She had been studying the central console of the ship curiously "Mikaelson."

The Doctor nodded, frowning internally. That name… No, that wasn't possible, was it? He would have to keep an eye on her. It might be just a coincidence but he doubted it. That last name was very rare and the only people he was aware of with that name were a group of vampires. Human vampires "Right then, Rose Tyler, Tyra Mikaelson, you tell me. Where do you want to go?

Backwards or forwards in time. It's your choice. What's it going to be?"

"Forwards," Tyra blurted out immediately. If she only had one trip she definitely didn't want to go where she had been before. Also, she wasn't sure where her brothers had been while she had been daggered. Running into them while she was supposed to be in a coffin probably was a very bad idea.

The Doctor looked at Rose "And you?"

"Forwards is fine with me," Rose murmured excitedly.

"Alright, how far?"

Rose shrugged "One hundred years?"

Tyra frowned "A century? That's a bit… boring." She turned to look at the Doctor "How far can you actually go?"

"Far as you like," he offered.

"I'm for anything over a thousand years into the future. Preferably more if that's alright with you?" Tyra was a little unsure of the situation, so it was probably best to include Rose as much as she could. Also, it would make her life ultimately easier if they at least got along. As far as she could tell so far, Rose was alright. A bit spoilt and very young but... Nothing Tyra hadn't seen before.

The Doctor was silent for a moment, considering his options "Right, I know exactly where to take you. Hold on." A few furious pumps of a lever and several buttons later, the Tardis zoomed through time and space, shaking badly.

"Where are we?" Rose bounced excitedly "What's out there?" The only answer she got was a gesture to the door. Rose grinned at the man and sprinted outside.

The Doctor shook his head with a smile before following Tyra outside after Rose. He walked over to the shutter control, messing with it to give the two girls a view they would be able to remember. At least he hoped so. A smug grin stole its way over his face when an orbital view of the Earth was revealed "You lot," he started, walking over to where the girls were standing "You spend all your time thinking about dying like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty-six. Five billion years in your future and this is the day." He paused to look at his watch "Hold on." The sun flared, turning an angry red "This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the Earth."

Tyra looked down at the planet she had come from. Were her and her siblings around or had someone found a way to kill them? "Are those satellites?"

"Good eye," the Doctor complimented "Yes. The keep the Earth classic. The way it has been billions of years ago in your time."

'_Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth death is scheduled for fifteen thirty-nine. Followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite._'

Rose blinked up at the computer's voice "When it says guests, does it mean people?"

"Depends what you mean by people," the Doctor teased.

"I mean people, what do you mean?" Rose gestured.

The Doctor shrugged "Aliens. You're taking this surprisingly well." The last part was said to Tyra with a surprised tone of voice.

Tyra snorted and shrugged "I travelled a lot. You wouldn't believe what I've seen." She shot him a look "Or maybe you would."

"You can't have seen that much," Rose pointed out, looking at Tyra with curiosity in her eyes. She barely knew anything about the other girl and that was almost as bad as not knowing anything about the Doctor. Essentially, Rose was travelling with two strangers. That thought made her shiver internally. Maybe this had been a bad idea "You're younger than I am. What? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Sixteen if we're being technical," Tyra shot back "Eighteen if you were to ask any cop or authority figure." She knew that she was a little open with the information about herself but her age was nothing. There was nothing they would be able to do with that anyway. She could compel any authority figures who were asking questions, so there really was nothing to worry about for Tyra.

Rose raised an eyebrow, surprised at the answer she got. She hadn't thought that Tyra was actually that young. It was more of a... comment on how young she looked "What about your parents?"

Tyra stared at Rose stubbornly, not saying anything. The Doctor rested a hand on her shoulder "You don't have to tell us. It's alright." He shot a look at Rose, warning her to drop the subject.

"What are they doing onboard the spaceship?" Rose sighed "What's it all for?"

"It's not really a spaceship," the Doctor explained "More like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn."

Rose tilted her head "What for?"

He shrugged "Fun." The next door slid open, revealing a huge area with a few display cases and a view of space to the front and above "Mind you when I say the great and the good…"

"You mean the rich," Tyra finished knowingly. She had seen it time and time again. Noblemen and noblewomen making a spectacle out of the most horrible things. Well, horrible for humans "I know. So, what you said earlier about the satellites… They keep the Earth like this. But why?"

The Doctor looked down at her, for the first time noticing how small she actually was. Her personality made up a big part of her, even if she lacked actual height. He wondered whether it was a sore spot for her… "Well, the planet is property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. The gravity satellites are holding back the sun. But now the money's run out, nature takes over."

"How long has it got?" Rose whispered.

"About half an hour and then the planet gets roasted," the Doctor grinned excitedly.

Tyra raised an eyebrow in amusement "You sound way too happy about a planet burning."

"Is that why we're here?" Rose questioned "I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?"

The Doctor shook his head "I'm not saving it," he stated seriously "Time's up."

"But what about all the people?" Rose exclaimed.

"It's empty," the Doctor told her "They're all gone. No one left."

Rose deflated, looking at the planet sadly "Just us, then?"

Tyra hummed "I doubt it. With how nosy Humans are it is unlikely they haven't spread across the universe by now."

A blue-skinned person with golden slit eyes strode towards the Tardis crew, a pissed off expression on his face "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, that's nice," the Doctor deadpanned "Thanks."

"But how did you get in?" the alien-looking alien drowned "This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked. They're on their way any second now."

The Doctor pulled out the wallet that held his psychic paper "That's me. I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation. Look. There, you see? It's fine, you see?" He waved the blank piece of paper in front of the man's nose "The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose Tyler and Tyra Mikaelson. They are my plus two. Is that alright?"

"Well, obviously," the Steward replied, flustered "Apologies, etcetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." He walked off towards a lectern.

The Doctor glanced at his Companions "The paper's slightly psychic. It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."

Tyra frowned at the wallet in his hands "It's blank… Well, no. It sort of fades in and out. Is that supposed to happen?"

"Fascinating," the Doctor murmured, his suspicions slowly taking form. Well, as long as she didn't attack anyone, he would let Tyra keep her vampirism a secret. If she was one, that is. He was pretty sure that she was but even he was wrong sometimes. Not that he would ever admit that "It means that you're smarter than the paper. Well, almost."

"He's blue," Rose blinked, still staring after the Steward.

The Doctor just nodded silently.

"_We have in attendance the Doctor, Rose Tyler and Tyra Mikaelson. Thank you. All staff to their positions,_" the Steward called out and the group of small blue people scattered into different directions, moving out of sight.

Tyra looked after them, feeling a little disappointed. She really wished she could be more surprised about these things and more in awe like Rose but… She guessed that after living over a thousand years, it kind of took the surprise out of a lot of things. Especially with siblings like Niklaus and Kol. And the fact that Tyra, even today was still running with witches.

"_Hurry now, thank you. Quick as we along, come along. And now, might I introduce the next honoured guest? Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely Jabe, Lute and Coffa._" A bark-skinned woman enters with two larger male escorts "_There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolca, we have the Moxx of Balhoon._" Another blue alien, this time mostly head and body entered, sitting on what appeared to be a futuristic wheelchair "_And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme._" A group of black-roped figures entered "_The inventors of Hypo-slip Travel Systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you._" Some furry-clad reptilians entered.

The announcements continued but Tyra turned her attention to the group of trees who were coming towards them with their gifts in hand "The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my grandfather," Jabe smiled, handing the Doctor a rooted twig in a small pot.

"Thank you. Yes, gifts," the Doctor grimaced, patting down his jacket.

"Didn't that hurt him? To cut pieces off?" Tyra asked the tree curiously.

Jabe chucked lightly "Do not worry. He didn't feel anything at all."

"Er," the Doctor coughed "I give you… air from my lungs." He breathed on Jabe gently, causing her to close her eyes.

"How intimate," she remarked.

The Doctor waggled his eyebrows "There's more where that came from."

"I bet there is."

Tyra groaned, looking away from the two of them in disgust. She caught Rose's gaze that showed that the other girl was feeling similar about the Doctor flirting with a tree of all things. Nothing against the Doctor's taste in women. Tyra marvelled at Jabe's beauty but there was a time and place for these kinds of things. The end of the Earth probably wasn't.

"_From the Silver Devastation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe._" A large glass case barely made it through the doorway. It contained a giant humanoid head with straggly hair and squinty eyes.

"The Moxx of Balhoon," the Doctor greeted exuberantly, smiling at the fat blue alien in front of him.

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance. I give you the gift of bodily saliva." He spat into Rose's eye, making the Doctor and Tyra hold back the laughter at her expression.

"Thank you very much," the Doctor snickered. As soon as the Moxx was gone, the black-roped group of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme came over "Ah! The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs." He breathed on them heavily.

A large metal hand reached out, holding a silver ball "A gift of peace in all good faith." The Doctor grabbed it and handed it to Tyra who started inspecting it curiously. From the appearance, it was only a silver ball but it was too light to be solid, making that it was hallowed out.

"_And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below,_" the Steward called "_In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen._"

A face in a piece of thin skin stretched in a rectangular frame was wheeled in by two men hidden in top-to-toe hospital whites "Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturise me. Moisturise me." One of the attendants used a pump spray on her skin "Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry. But behold, I bring gifts. From the Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband?"

Tyra was staring at the skin in disgust. What was that thing and why was it - she calling herself the last Human? There was nothing Human about that… She followed Rose around the back of Cassandra to see how thin she really was when Tyra stiffened. The skin's blood smelt… good. Too good. She whirled around, trying to hide the black veins that were creeping up under her eyes. Her fangs slid out of her gums as she pressed her eyes close. Control… She had more control than that.

Behind her, the Doctor looked at both girls in worry. Tyra had been doing great until just then but Rose… He had been a bit more worried about her. While she was incredibly open-minded for early twenty-first-century humans, he had to admit that he might have gone a bit too far in taking them here.

Rose pushed past Tyra, rushing out of the room. Tyra swallowed, casting one last glance over her shoulder as she followed the other girl, seeing Rose's escape as her chance to get away from the last Human and the temptation her blood was causing.

Tyra walked back to the gallery they had arrived in earlier, sitting down at the window. She glanced at Rose for a moment before turning her head to watch the Sun and the Earth "It's a bit weird, isn't it?"

"A bit," Rose laughed lightly, putting the metal ball and the root thing down next to her "How come you're taking this so well?"

"Seen a lot of weird shit," Tyra shrugged "I just… I don't know. Don't mind the aliens that much. At least they're friendly." She was kind of glad that she was here, that she took the chance to finally do something she wanted, instead of just running all the time. Over the past century, after she ran from Niklaus, her only thoughts were about trying not to run into any of her sibling and how she would be able to get Kol – and Finn back. Kol had been a constant source of comfort to Tyra after Henrik was killed by the wolves. Her twin brother was the only reason their mother turned them into vampires and Tyra couldn't say that she was happy. She wasn't as suicidal as Finn or anything but she wasn't happy either. She hadn't been for a thousand years. Being with Kol and travelling with him always made her feel alive.

'_Earth death in twenty-five minutes_'

"Oh, thanks," Rose sighed from the place she was sitting. She picked up the potted plant, looking down at it "Hello. My name is Rose. That's sort of a plant. We might be related... I'm talking to a twig…"

Tyra coughed "Talking to plants is the first sign of insanity."

"Rose?" the Doctor's voice sounded from the hallway "Tyra? You in there?" He entered, seeing both girls "Aye, aye. What do you think, then?"

"Great," Rose smiled tensely "Yeah, fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper just so alien. You look at them and they're alien."

The Doctor chuckled "Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South."

"Where are you from?" Rose demanded.

"All over the place," the Doctor dismissed.

Rose crossed her arms and sighed "They all speak English."

"Nope," he shrugged "You just hear English. It's a gift of the Tardis. The telepathic field gets inside your brain and translates."

"It's inside my brain?" Rose questioned, getting more hysterical.

At that moment, the Doctor realised that he messed up "Well, in a good way."

"Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind and you didn't even ask?" Rose rambled.

"I didn't think about it like that," he scratched his head uncomfortably, glancing over at Tyra who just shrugged and turned to look back out to the Earth, drowning out the rest of the conversation. She had no real desire to hear Rose blaming the Doctor for something that was her own fault. She didn't have to leave with a virtual stranger. Not that Tyra was any different but at least she had the means to defend herself.

"Tell me who you are," Rose shouted loudly, jumping to her feet.

The Doctor glared at her in annoyance "This is who I am, right here, right now, alright? All that counts is here and now and this is me."

"Yeah," Rose continued "And I'm here too because you brought me here, so just tell me."

The Doctor stormed towards the window where Tyra was watching them from, staring out into space angrily "Are you alright?" the Doctor asked quietly "You seemed fine earlier."

Tyra shrugged "Sorry. Just… I was having trouble getting my head around the last Human. It's a bit weird."

"Heh, yeah," he grinned "She's a bit much. You're really okay?"

"Sure. You don't have to tell us, by the way," she pointed out "It's none of our business where you're from and we made the choice to come willingly."

'_Earth death in twenty minutes. Earth death in twenty minutes._'

"Alright," Rose murmured, walking over to the other two "As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." She took out her phone, looking for a signal "Can't exactly call for a taxi. There's no signal. We're out of range… Just a bit."

The Doctor sighed "Tell you what." He grabbed the phone and started taking it apart "With a bit of jiggery-pokery."

"Is that a technical term?" Rose grinned "Jiggery-pokery?"

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery-pokery," the Doctor shot back, his grin back in place "What about you two?"

Rose shook her head "No, I failed hullabaloo."

"And you two are just plain weird. Coming from me that really means something," Tyra mumbled, handing the Doctor her phone when he asked for it.

"Oh, there you go," he exclaimed, handing Rose her phone and giving Tyra hers "Go on, try it."

Tyra glanced down at the screen and raised her eyebrow when all the messages and missed calls from a witch friend of hers trickled in. Each one got more panicked, telling her to call back.

"_Oh, thank God,_" Sienna breathed, picking up on the first ring.

Tyra frowned worriedly "What's wrong?"

"_Your brother is in London. You have got to get out of there,_" Sienna hurried out "_He's apparently looking for you._"

"Relax," Tyra soothed "I'm not in London right now. Where did you track him to?"

"_To your hotel,_" she mumbled "_You can't go back there, Ty. I grabbed your stuff for you, pretending it was mine. Not sure if he believed me._"

Tyra hummed "You're still alive. I think it's safe to say that you're a good actress."

"_Well, that's a relief. Where are you anyway?_"

"I left the country," she explained, looking out at the Earth again. Just a little bit "Not sure when I'll be back yet. Just – Call me when there's news, alright? I'll try to keep in touch but I might go off the grid for a bit."

"_Sure thing,_" Sienna replied "_Take care of yourself, okay? I don't want to find out that you're in a coffin._"

"Who was that?" the Doctor questioned, sitting down next to Tyra "It sounded intense."

Tyra shrugged "Just a friend of mine."

"Are you in trouble?" he frowned, grabbing the girl's hand gently.

"No," she shook her head "Not really.

He tilted his head "That wasn't very convincing."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Tyra brushed him off, standing up.

Rose turned towards them, lowering her phone "That was five billion years ago. So, she's dead now. Five billion years later, my mum's dead."

"Bundle of laughs you are," the Doctor rolled his eyes. Suddenly, the space station started shaking "That's not supposed to happen." He threw the girls one of his grins and took off back to the observation gallery where the others were.

Outside the doors, Tyra could already make out the Moxx talking to someone "Indubitably, this is the Bad Wolf scenario. I find the inherent laxity of the on-going multiverse…"

"That wasn't a gravity pocket," the Doctor remarked "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that. What do you think, Jabe? Listen to the engines. They've pitched up about thirty Hertz. That dodgy or what?"

"It's the sound of metal," Jabe shrugged lightly "It doesn't make any sense to me."

The Doctor spun around "Where's the engine room?"

Jabe seemed a little overwhelmed with all the questions "I don't know but the maintenance duct is just behind out guest suite… I could show you, your friend and your wife?" At the last words, she gestured to Rose. Tyra relaxed a little when she was labelled as a friend. That could have gotten awkward really quickly.

"She's not my wife," the Doctor denied.

"Partner?"

"No."

Jabe raised an eyebrow "Concubine?"

"Nope…"

"Prostitute?"

"Whatever I am, it must be invisible," Rose snarked "Do you mind? Tell you what, you two go and… pollinate. I'm going to catch up with family. Quick word with Michael Jackson." She left, walking over to where Cassandra was by the window.

The Doctor looked after her "Don't start a fight." He offered Jabe his arm "Coming? Tyra?"

"No, thanks," she shook her head "I think I'll stay here. Maybe socialize and all that."

He leaned towards Tyra for a moment "Try not to insult anyone."

'_Earth death in fifteen minutes. Earth death in fifteen minutes._'

"How cheery," Tyra sighed, leaning against one of the walls not too far from the Face of Boe but far enough from Cassandra so that she didn't feel like ripping the skin trampoline apart. Nothing had ever smelt this good to her. Not even when she was a newly turned vampire. Whatever that woman did to herself, it wasn't natural.

"What happened to everyone else?" Rose questioned Cassandra "The Human race, where did it go?"

Cassandra glanced at her out of the corner of her eye "They say mankind has touched every star in the sky."

"So… You're not the last Human," Rose remarked.

"I am the last pure Human," she replied haughtily "The others mingled. Oh, they call themselves New Humans and Proto-Humans and Digi-Humans, even 'Humanish' but you know what I call them? Mongrels."

Tyra grimaced at that. The last Human was a right bitch. And a hypocrite on top of it. A voice chuckled in her head, causing her to blink. What was that? "_That would be me._" Tyra turned her head, gaze drifting across the room. Once she reached the Face of Boe, she froze "_Yes, it's me._"

"What do you want from me?" Tyra blinked, looking at the big head weirdly.

"_Oh, can't I talk to an old friend?_" the Face of Boe teased "_Fine then._"

Tyra tilted her head "Old friend? I'm sure I would remember a giant head. Sorry."

Another chuckled echoed through her head "_Don't be. It's good to see that you started out this way though._"

"Now, I'm sure that wasn't a compliment," Tyra mumbled, unsure if she should be offended or not.

"_Wouldn't you like to know. Listen, I usually wouldn't do that. Timelines and the like but… You told me to warn you. You can't run forever, Tyra Mikaelson._"

She startled, shaking her head at the implication "No. What?"

"_You should tell him,_" Boe advised "_Maybe it will help._"

"I don't think so," Tyra murmured, noticing that Rose wasn't in the room anymore. When did she run off again? "Excuse me." She walked out of the door, following Rose's scent. It lead her to the gallery from before. There was something wrong though. As soon as Tyra got closer, she felt the heat radiating through the door.

"Help," Rose screamed from the other side of the door "Please. Get me out. Help."

'_Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending_'

Tyra searched the door for the mechanism, trying it out. When nothing happened, she cursed lowly. She didn't want to reveal what she was but there was something wrong. Just as she was about to try and trash the door, hurried footsteps were coming closer "Tyra," the Doctor called out.

"Rose is in there," she pointed out, nodding to the door.

The Doctor closed his eyes when he heard the shouts "Of course it would be her."

"Open the door," Rose shouted.

"Hold on," the Doctor called back "Give us two ticks."

'_Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending. Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising. Sun filter descending._'

The Doctor huffed "Just what we need. The computer's getting clever."

"Stop mucking about," Rose demanded.

"I'm not mucking about," the Doctor defended himself "It's fighting back."

"Open the door."

"I know," he grumbled, working on the small computer furiously "I know."

The next time Rose's voice sounded, it was faint, like she had moved away from the door "The lock's melted."

'_Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending. Sun filter… Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising._'

The Doctor tried to open the door, shaking his head "The whole thing's jammed. I can't open the door. Stay there and don't move."

"Where am I going to go? Ipswich?"

Tyra looked at the door for a moment, considering her options before turning to run after the Doctor. When she entered, Cassandra was slandering the Face of Boe "This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe. He invited us. Talk to the Face. Talk to the Face."

"Easy way of finding out," the Doctor spoke up "Someone brought their little pet on board. Let's send him back to his master." He put down the spider he plucked out of his pocket. It scuttled off towards the piece of skin, scanning her. After it was done, it crawled over to the group of black-clad figures.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme," Cassandra gasped dramatically "J'accuse."

The Doctor shrugged "That's all very well and really kind of obvious. But if you stop and think about it…" He went over to the Adherents. When their leader tried to hit him, he just pulled out its arm "A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." He pulled at one of the wires dangling from the arm and the Adherents all collapsed "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo. Go home." The Doctor gave the spider a nudge and it returned to Cassandra.

"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed," Cassandra spat "At arms." Her attendants raised their spray guns threateningly.

"What are you going to do?" the Doctor asked, half striking a pose "Moisturise me?"

"With acid," Cassandra added "Oh, you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax-free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

The Doctor frowned "Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid is that?"

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims," Cassandra explained "The compensation would have been enormous."

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money," the Doctor shook his head in disgust.

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?" Cassandra bitched "Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last human, Doctor. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours."

Tyra raised an eyebrow "I'm assuming you're not talking about me."

Cassandra rolled her eyes "Oh, shut it, pixie. I've still got my final option."

'_Earth death in three minutes_'

"And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? Burn, baby, burn," she grinned evilly.

Jabe hissed "Then you'll burn with us."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cassandra mocked "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden but I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders activate." There was a series of explosions through the whole Platform "Forcefields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband. Oh, shame on me."

'_Safety systems failing_'

"Bye, bye, darlings. Bye, bye, my darlings." Cassandra and her attendants beamed out.

'_Heat levels rising_'

The Moxx whirred around on his wheelchair "Reset the computer."

"Only the Steward would know," Jabe pointed out.

The Doctor clapped his hands "No. We can do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, stay here. Tyra, come on. You lot, just chill."

'_Heat levels rising. Earth death in two minutes. Earth death in two minutes. Heat levels critical._'

"Oh, and guess where the switch is," the Doctor grumbled, staring at the other side of the room through the whirling of the very sharp fans. The Doctor pulled a breaker lever and the fans slowed a little but reset as soon as he let go.

When he went to pull it again, Tyra pushed him towards the fans "Go. I'll hold it down."

"You're going to get hurt," he pointed out in concern.

"Don't worry about me," Tyra shook her head, knowing that she would be fine "Just go. Hurry."

Once the computer started the countdown, the Doctor ran past the third fan, dashing for the reset breaker "Raise shield," he shouted.

'_One… Exoglass repair, exoglass repair._'

"That was close," Tyra murmured as soon as the Doctor joined her, the fans having slowed down enough for him to walk through easily. On their way back to the observation gallery, Tyra fingered the ring she had on her thumb. It was her daylight ring, the one that she had gotten from her mother. Esther had made two different kinds of rings. One type for Elijah, Rebekah and Niklaus and the other for Tyra, Kol and Finn. Since the three of them were the only ones to practise magic apart from their mother.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor mumbled, surveying the scene in front of him. The Moxx had burnt up and Jabe was pressed into a corner with her Companions, looking a little singed.

Rose came up behind them "You alright?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded "I'm fine. I'm full of ideas. I'm bristling with them. Idea number one, teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." He smashed open the alleged ostrich egg, only to reveal a small device "Idea number three, then a teleportation feed can be reversed."

Cassandra's voice floated through the room, even before she appeared "Oh, you should have seen their little alien faces." She was beamed back in "Oh."

"The last Human."

"So," Cassandra cleared her throat "You passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join – er – the Human Club." She looked around the room nervously.

The Doctor just glared at her "People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them."

"It depends on your definition of people," she sneered "And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court, Doctor, and watch me smile and cry and flutter."

"And creak?" Tyra pointed out with a smirk. She was trying not to breathe too deeply, standing a bit behind the Doctor, inhaling his scent instead.

"And what?"

"Creak," the Doctor repeated "You're creaking."

Cassandra gasped "What? Ah! I'm drying out. Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturise me, moisturise me. Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys. It's too hot."

"You raised the temperature," the Doctor told her with little remorse in his tone.

"Have pity," she cried out "Moisturise me. Oh, oh, Doctor. I'm sorry. I'll do anything."

Rose tugged at the Doctor's sleeve "Help her," she whispered.

"Everything has its time and everything dies," he gave back emotionlessly.

The creaking got louder "I'm too young." With those last words, Cassandra exploded with a loud splat, pieces flying everywhere. The scent of blood reached Tyra, causing her to clamp down on her bloodlust. At least she had had a warning. If not, this could have ended badly. If a normal human did that, it would have no effect on her at all but this? The chemicals must have somehow made Cassandra's blood sweeter or something,

'_Shuttles four and six departing. This unit is closing down for maintenance._'

Soon only Rose, the Doctor and Tyra were left on the Platform, looking at the asteroids that were once the Earth as they floated past the red giant Sun "The end of the Earth. It's gone and we were too busy saving ourselves. No one saw it go. All those years, all that history and no one was even looking. It's just…" Rose sighed, staring outside with tears in her eyes.

"Come with me," the Doctor gestured, leading the two girls back to the Tardis.

It didn't take long before the three were back in London, walking down a busy street in the middle of the day. A baby cried somewhere and a man was laughing. Compared to what they had seen, the scene in front of them was almost absurd. No one knew what was going to happen almost five billion years into the future "Big issue! Big issue," a guy at the newspaper stand was shouting.

"You think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete but it won't," the Doctor spoke up "One day it's all gone. Even the sky. My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust before its time."

Tyra swallowed at the agony in his voice. She might not have lost her entire species but she knew how it felt to lose something important. She put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing in comfort. Her home was gone too. It has been gone for over a thousand years by now but she still missed it. Missed how easy life was despite her father "What happened?" she asked.

"There was a war and we lost," he told them.

Rose frowned "A war with who? What about your people?"

"I'm a Time Lord," the Doctor explained "I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own 'cos there's no one else."

"There's us," Rose gestured happily.

The Doctor looked at them closely "You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?"

Tyra shook her head "Nope. Not if you'll have me."

"I don't know," Rose hesitated "I want…" She broke off, sniffing the air "Oh, can you smell chips?"

The Doctor laughed a little "Yeah. Yeah."

"I want chips," Rose decided.

"Me too," the Doctor nodded.

"Right then," Rose bounced "Before you get us back in that box, chips it is and you can pay."

"No money," the Doctor shrugged sheepishly.

Tyra shook her head, not really surprised. She reached into her wallet and held out some bills for Rose to take "Here. It's on me. There's something I need to do, though. I'll meet you there."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor questioned worriedly. He was thinking about the phone call he overheard between Tyra and whoever it had been she was talking to. What if she really was in trouble? Even vampires could be killed. Although… If he was right, she'd probably go off to feed somewhere.

"I'm sure," Tyra nodded.

Rose took the notes with a thanks and pulled the Doctor along with her to the first chips shop on the street.

Tyra closed her eyes, breathing deeply. When she found the person she wanted, she dumped into him deliberately, compelling the man to follow her and be quiet. After she had her fill, she leaned forward, looking into the man's eyes "You will leave and forget this ever happened. You were attacked by someone when you walked past this alley and they ran before anything could happen." The man nodded hastily, scrambling out the alley, leaving Tyra alone once again.


	3. The Unquiet Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so first things first. I have my laptop back as of yesterday night. That means I went over the cringiness that was the last two chapters. I didn't even realise that there were that many mistakes. But they're corrected and the chapters will be replaced.
> 
> I also made that Yahoo Group I mentioned and will put a link at the bottom. Or at least the name.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

Tyra smirked at the Doctor who was flitting around the console, trying to at least somewhat ease the jerky flight. Trying and failing, she might add "Hold that one down," the Doctor instructed Rose.

"I'm holding this one down," Rose complained, trying to stretch across to reach the button the Doctor had gestured to.

Tyra rolled her eyes "How about I do that, hm?" She strolled over to the button as graceful as she could. Which wasn't much compared to her usual walk but it was still enough for both the Doctor and Rose to stare at her incredulously "This one, right?"

"Er, yeah," the Doctor nodded, shaking himself out of the staring he had done. He wondered whether he should talk to Tyra about what he knew. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he shook his head. No, he would wait. Maybe she would come to him. If she did, it was a definite sign of trust on her part. Especially while she was pretending to be Human, to begin with.

"It's not going to work," Rose groaned as the shaking got worse.

The Doctor huffed "Oi! I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting. Now, you've seen the future, so let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?"

"Like me being carted around in a coffin because of my own doing," Tyra huffed under her breath "With two of my brothers along for the ride."

The Doctor blinked at her "What did you just say?"

"Hm?" Tyra's eyes widened. He couldn't have heard that, could he? "Oh, I didn't say anything. Sorry."

"Right," he nodded, still eyeing her from the side. That might explain why he hadn't met her before. If she was… Whatever 'daggered' meant. Hopefully not what it sounded like.

Rose looked from the Doctor to Tyra and back "What's in 1860?"

The Doctor grinned at her "I don't know, Rose. Let's find out. Hold on, here we go." The Tardis materialised with a huge jerk that threw all three of them off their feet.

"Blimey," Rose laughed, dusting herself off.

"You're telling me," the Doctor sighed in exasperation "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded "I think so. Did we make it? Where are we?"

The Doctor checked the scanner "Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th 1860. Tyra, are you okay too?"

Tyra looked over at the Doctor and nodded "I'm alright. Hey, if we're really in 1860 is there somewhere I can change? I doubt my clothes would go over well."

"Oh, right," the Doctor exclaimed "Wardrobe is through there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. Hurry up. Both of you."

Rose looked at Tyra, hoping that she would be able to remember the direction. She forgot where to go already. She hurried after Tyra "I… I hope you know where to go."

"It was a bit confusing," Tyra admitted with a grin "But I've got it. I think." She was excited to dress up again. While corsets had been uncomfortable as hell, the dresses had been pretty. Of course, Rebekah never thought so. She always preferred pants. Tyra wore pants in the corset ages but apart from then, she tended to prefer dresses and skirts. Not anymore. It wsn't that important what to wear as long as she liked it.

Once the two girls arrived at the wardrobe, they gasped at the sheer size. There were clothes as far as they could see for every period, every gender and in every colour "Whoa," Rose gasped in amazement, disappearing around the next corner.

Tyra briefly stopped at a rack that held clothing from the 10th century, trailing her hand over the rough material. Clothes were so different nowadays… The green dress reminded her of what she used to wear when she was Human. It was a surprisingly good replica bar the leather cuffs. She shook herself out of the memories of her Human life and honed in on a rack with dresses from the Victorian age.

"Are those the right ones?" Rose questioned, appearing from wherever she had been. Honestly, she wasn't too sure either. The area she landed in was very… futuristic. But it had been those outfits from the bad movies about the future. It was weird.

"Should be," Tyra nodded, immediately noticing a black and red dress that was right in front of her. She pulled it out and hummed in appreciation. There was a bow at the bust and ruffles all over the blood red skirt. Underneath that, there was more detailing on the black piece of cloth. In the chest area, there were even more details. All in all, it was beautiful.

Rose looked over when Tyra walked past her to the changing rooms "How are you done already?"

Tyra glanced over her should and shrugged "I don't know. Guess it just caught my eye." When Rose didn't say anything else, Tyra continued on. The motions were still familiar as Tyra put on the dress. She frowned at herself critically. Her hair was a mix of dark brown with some natural highlights.

"Are you almost done?" Rose called from where she was by the racks of dresses. She was hopelessly lost and had no idea what would be appropriate "I think I need your help."

Tyra hummed absentmindedly "Give me a second." She quickly threw up her hair into a half-up, half-down style. The end product wasn't the cleanest hairstyle she ever had but it turned into a relatively nice up-do that managed to be messy and yet elegant "Do you want me to wait for you?"

Rose shook her head, still looking at the dresses "No. Just… Tell the Doctor I'll be a bit."

"Try this one," Tyra pointed out, nodding to a purple and black dress that was off to the side "I'll tell him though." When she finally reached the console room after a quick stop by her room, she found the Doctor lying underneath the console. She sat down on the jump seat, just watching him for a moment before she spoke up "Why did you take me along?"

The Doctor jumped in surprise at hearing her voice, hitting his head. How he hadn't heard her was a mystery to him. Then again, he had been thinking about confronting Tyra again but once again decided against it. He didn't have a problem with her being a vampire, especially since he was aware of the history of her family. After the incident on Platform One, he had buried himself in the library for the night. He had quite a few books about the various creatures on Earth and there were a few chapters written about the Mikaelson family. Now that he though about it, it seemed like first-hand accounts of what happened to them. There seemed to be some holes and lack of explanation but nevertheless, their first few years as vampires were documented in his books. The whole thing practically screamed trust issues, so if Tyra wanted to keep her blood-sucking habits to herself for a little while, it was fine with him. More than fine. Especially since he himself wasn't nearly ready to share what happened during the Time War. Maybe they had more in common than he thought… "What?" he managed after cursing his bad luck, rubbing at his head.

"I was wondering why you took me along. You didn't know me at all, still don't really," Tyra repeated.

The Doctor looked at her, subtly glancing over her outfit. She seemed comfortable in the clothing "Because you didn't run," he pointed out "And you did well on Platform One. Trust me, I took people along for less. As long as you keep going the way you did, you're fine."

"Okay," she mumbled, nodding to herself. It sort of made sense and if it was normal for the Doctor… She wasn't going to complain. Tyra looked over at him when he went back around the console and squinted "Did you change your shirt? Could have sworn that was a different colour before."

He just grinned at her and looked up when Rose walked into the room, appropriately dressed in the dress Tyra had pointed out to her. It seemed like she had taken a little more care with her hair as it was arranged in a bun that was pinned up with a flower "Blimey," the Doctor sighed, looking from one girl to the next. They were both beautiful in different ways. Rose was innocent and naive, still young enough to believe in the world. Tyra, on the other hand, had an… air around her. Her eyes were telling a story that her mouth didn't and that was something that drew people in. The Doctor was sure that the only reason she wasn't flocked with admirers was because she didn't want it.

"Don't laugh," Rose grumbled, adjusting the dress.

The Doctor shook his head with a smile "You look beautiful. Both of you…" He paused before realising how his comment could be taken "Considering."

Rose gaped "Considering what?"

"That you're human," he shrugged.

"I think that's a compliment," Rose told Tyra before looking back to the Doctor "Aren't you going to change?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes "I changed my jumper. Come on."

Before he could move, Rose stepped in front of him "You stay here. You've done this before. This is mine." She hurried to the door and slowly exited the Tardis, stepping onto the freshly fallen snow that gave a crunch with every step.

Tyra followed, taking a deep breath. A smile stole its way across her face. She had missed the freshness of the air before cars existed. The only smell that was around was the smell of horses and other natural if sometimes not too pleasant aromas. Nothing artificial, no cars, nothing.

"Ready for this?" the Doctor asked "Here we go. History."

Tyra's smile turned to a grimace. History… Her history. Maybe this was a chance for her to experience some of the events she wished to experience. Sure, it had been her own fault that she had gotten daggered over and over again but there were some events and people she wished she could have seen. One of her hands came up to rub at her chest. She felt bad for Kol and especially Finn. Finn… he didn't know what he was missing but she knew what he must be feeling. The first time she had gotten daggered, she became aware. It was slow and only towards the end but it was agony. That's why she had always tried to get her siblings to see, to help, to understand. But the only thing that got her was another dagger in the chest.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor called from a bit up the street. He and Rose had started walking before they noticed that Tyra was still standing next to the Tardis. She was staring at the snow, eyes unfocussed.

Tyra's head snapped up "What? Oh, sorry. So, where are we going?"

"Wandering," the Doctor shrugged, holding out his other arm for her to take. They continued walking down the street past a choir before he extracted himself to go get a newspaper. A frown settled onto his face as he stared at the date and time "I got the flight a bit wrong," the Doctor muttered in disappointment.

"I don't care," Rose laughed, looking around with wonder in her eyes. The future was one thing but this? This was amazing. She was walking on a ground that didn't exist anymore in her time. It had been built over and over and over. Now, though… Now, it was real. People that were dead by her time were alive. She would be able to meet famous people like… like… Oh, she couldn't think of anyone at the moment.

The Doctor sighed. How could he have gotten it this wrong? "It's not 1860, it's 1869."

Rose shrugged "I don't care."

"Let me guess," Tyra spoke up, seeing the Doctor's face sour more "It's not Naples either."

"No," he replied grumpily "It's Cardiff."

That stopped Rose in her tracks "Right," she mumbled.

Suddenly, a scream sounded from the direction of what appeared to be a theatre. The Doctor whirled around and grinned "That's more like it." He ran off with the girls following, barely catching a blue entity coming from an old woman. It flew around the auditorium a few times, getting closer and closer to the walls "Fantastic." The woman collapsed "Did you see where it came from?"

"Ah," the man on stage exclaimed "The wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir."

An old man and a woman snuck in, picking up the corpse from where it had fallen, carrying her outside "Oi," Rose shouted "Leave her alone. Doctor, I'll get them."

"Be careful," the Doctor called after her "Did it say anything? Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, by the way."

Dickens raised an eyebrow "Doctor? You look more like a navvie."

The Doctor frowned down at his shirt "What's wrong with my jumper?" He looked up in time to see the blue entity flying into a gas light "Gas," he exclaimed "It's made of gas." He grabbed Tyra's hand, pulling her outside to get Rose "Rose!"

"You're not escaping me," Dickens yelled, chasing after them "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"

Outside, the Doctor practically shoved Tyra into a nearby carriage, getting in behind her "Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks. Oi! Follow that hearse."

"I can't do that, sir," the driver replied politely.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked impatiently.

Dickens glared at the two inside his carriage "I'll tell you why not. I'll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach."

"Well, get in, then. Move!" The driver cracked the whip and the carriage started moving down the street after the hearse Rose was in "Come on," the Doctor urged "You're losing them."

The driver turned his head to the side, still keeping the pace "Everything in order, Mister Dickens?"

Tyra tilted her head. So this really was the author. She thought so but had been a bit unsure since the portrait of the man had been from when he was younger. Elijah met him around the time he wrote his first books.

"No," Dickens shouted in agitation "It is not."

"What did he say?" the Doctor inquired, blinking at the other man.

Tyra shrugged "Charles Dickens. Why are you so surprised?"

"The Charles Dickens?"

"Should I remove the gentleman and the lady, sir?" the driver questioned.

The Doctor smiled exuberantly "Charles Dickens? You're brilliant, you are. Completely one hundred percent brilliant. I've read them all. Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and… What's the other one? The one with the ghosts?"

"A Christmas Carol?" Dickens tilted his head.

"The Signal Man?" Tyra asked. It was one of the few stories she ready by Dickens. He was never her favourite author. Good, but not her favourite.

The Doctor snapped his fingers "That's it. The Signal Man. Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You're a genius."

"You want me to get rid of them, sir?"

"Er, no," Dickens stuttered "I think they can stay."

"Honestly, Charles," the Doctor rambled on "Can I call you Charles? I'm such a big fan."

Dickens blinked "A what? A bit what?"

"Admirer," Tyra cut in "He meant to say that he's a great admirer of your works."

"No, but he said fan," Dickens argued "In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?"

The Doctor shook his head "No, it means fanatic, devoted to. Admirer, like Tyra said. Mind you, I've got to say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what's that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit." Tyra rolled her eyes, hitting him over the back of the head. This wasn't the way to get him to help.

"I thought you said you were my fan," Dickens huffed, pouting a bit.

"Ah, well, if you can't take criticism. Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up. No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster." He shouted the last bit to the driver.

Dickens looked at them closely "Who exactly is in that hearse?"

"My friend," the Doctor explained quietly "She's only nineteen. It's my fault. She's in my care and now she's in danger."

"Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books?" Charles exclaimed, suddenly very much excited for the chase. It was like a switch had flipped inside him "This is much more important. Driver, be swift. The chase is on."

The driver shrugged at the order "Yes, sir!" He cracked the whip, urging the horses to go even faster.

"Attaboy, Charlie," the Doctor nodded.

"Nobody calls me Charlie."

The Doctor shrugged "The ladies do."

He waggled his eyebrows at Tyra who scoffed "I don't."

When the carriage came to a sudden stop, the three jumped out, running up to the front door of the Undertaker's office. Charles started banging on the door hurriedly "I'm sorry, sir," a young woman told us, holding the door close to her body "We're closed."

"Nonsense," Charles blustered "Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master."

Gwyneth shook her head "He's not in, sir."

"Don't lie to me, child," Charles hissed "Summon him at once."

"I'm awfully sorry, Mister Dickens but the master's indisposed," Gwyneth pointed out calmly.

A gas lamp flared behind her "Having trouble with your gas?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

Charles gaped at the large flame "What the Shakespeare is going on?"

The Doctor shouldered past Gwyneth gently and hurried towards the flaring gas lamp "You're not allowed inside, sir," she reprimanded, trying politely to get the man out of the house.

"There's something inside the walls," the Doctor murmured "The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas."

All heads snapped to the side when a voice sounded from further into the house "Let me out," Rose cried "Open the door."

"That's her," Tyra pointed out, running after the Doctor.

"Please, please, let me out," Rose shouted panicked "Let me out. Somebody open the door. Open the door."

The Doctor kicked in the door and pulled Rose away from the walking dead "I think this is my dance."

"It's a prank," Charles insisted from behind the three travellers "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"Or the dead are walking," Tyra suggested from next to him "Not that that's uncommon."

Charles turned to her "It isn't?"

She grinned at his astonished expression "Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't."

"Hi," Rose nodded to Charles "Who's your friend?"

"Charles Dickens," the Doctor replied dismissively, studying the corpses curiously.

Rose blinked "Okay."

"My name's the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?"

The man swayed and several voices sounded "Failing. Open the rift. We're dying. Trapped in his form. Cannot sustain. Help us. Argh!" The gas left and returned to the gas lamps, the corpses collapsing to the floor.

Ten minutes later, they were all in the living room with Gwyneth pouring tea for everyone.

"First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man," Rose ranted at the Undertaker.

Sneed sneered "I won't be spoken to like this."

Rose continued, ignoring his interruption "Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies. And if that ain't enough, you swan off and leave me to die. So come on, talk."

"It's not my fault," Sneed protested "It's this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back and then the stiffs…" He caught Charles' look and hastily corrected himself "The – er – dearly departed started getting restless."

"Tommyrot," Charles scoffed.

Sneed gestured in the direction of the room "You witnessed it. Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk and it's the queerest thing but they hang on to scraps."

Gwyneth placed the Doctor's cup on the mantelpiece beside him and handed Tyra another "Two sugars, sir, just how you like it. Miss…"

Tyra smiled in thanks and took a small sip, spitting it right back out in surprise when the tang of blood hit her tongue "What the…?"

"Are you okay?" the Doctor questioned in concern, seeing her look after Gwyneth in wonder and shock.

"Yeah," Tyra nodded "Yeah. Sorry, just took me by surprise."

He raised an eyebrow "The tea took you by surprise?"

She shrugged and drained to cup quickly "I'm just a bit tired. Nothing more. It's fine," she lied. Truth was that she was a bit paranoid about being in the past. She didn't know where her siblings had been most of the time apart from the few stories she heard. It made everything so much more difficult, since running into them would definitely be fun. Really, really, fun.

"One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned," Sneed explained.

"Morbid fancy," Charles shook his head.

The Doctor sighed in exasperation "Oh, Charles, you were there."

"I saw nothing but an illusion," he pointed out.

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up," the Doctor waved off "What about the gas?"

Sneed hummed "That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger," the Doctor mused "The rift's getting wide and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" Rose tilted her head.

Tyra raised her head "Well, a rift usually implies a large crack in the ground or a rock or something. So if we apply the same logic to it, I'd say that the rift is – in this case – a crack in space. Maybe time as well."

"Exactly," the Doctor smiled "It's a weak point. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."

"That's how I got the house so cheap," Sneed bragged "Stories go back generations."

Charles shook his head, storming out of the room loudly. Tyra sighed and followed him. There was something she wanted to know. Whether he remembered meeting Elijah or if her older brother actually met him. She found him in the hallway, staring at a gas lamp in shock "Are you alright?" Tyra asked.

He whirled around "Yes, yes. Was there anything you needed… Tyra, was it not?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded "Tyra Mikaelson."

Charles tilted his head, recognition sparking in his mind. He knew that last name "I know that name. Mikaelson… Very unique. Any relation to…"

"Elijah," she finished for him "He's my older brother."

"A very intelligent young man," Charles praised "How is he these days?"

Tyra shrugged "I don't actually know. I haven't seen my siblings in years."

"Oh," he murmured "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," she smiled "I chose to run."

While they were talking, Charles took the top off of Redpath's coffin and waved his hand in front of the dead man's face. Tyra heard a noise in the doorway and turned to see the Doctor leaning against the doorway, watching. He had heard their conversation and everything that had been said "Checking for strings?"

"Wires, perhaps," Charles mumbled, checking further "There must be some mechanism behind this fraud."

"Oh, come on, Charles," the Doctor sighed "Alright, I shouldn't have told you to shut up. I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures."

Charles shook his head in denial "I cannot accept that."

"And what does the human body do when it decomposes?" the Doctor continued on "It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and his coach."

"Stop it," Charles demanded "Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?"

"Not wrong," the Doctor shook his head "There's just more to learn."

Charles sighed "I've always railed against the fantasists. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them but that's exactly what they were, illusions. The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices, the great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack-o'-lanterns. In which case, have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?"

Tyra put a comforting hand on the man's arm while the Doctor left to go check up on the others "Don't worry too much, Mr Dickens. There are things that people don't know and others they believe to be fairytales."

"You sound like you speak from experience," Charles pointed out "Your eyes speak of pain. In fact, your brother's did as well. What happened to you to cause this?"

She averted her gaze "Maybe I am." She shook her head and took a couple of steps away from him "Let's just get back to the others."

"Might I just say," he started "You seem much more… mannered than your blonde friend."

"Thank you, sir," Tyra murmured, leaving the room with the coffins. She wasn't the biggest fan of them. They always reminded her of the times she became aware of the pain of the dagger almost driving her insane. If it felt like that after two and a half to three centuries, how bad must it be for Finn after nine? The thought alone sent shivers down her spine. If Niklaus ever undaggers Finn or Tyra found a way to get him free, she would help her brother, no matter where she was. She would always go back for him. Always. He didn't do anything wrong back then… He only wanted to leave and be with Sage and since no one really like him much apart from me, he got overlooked.

Inside the living room, they all gathered around the table, turning towards the Welsh girl "This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town. Come, we must all join hands."

"I can't take part in this," Charles protested.

"Humbug?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow "Come on, open mind."

Charles crossed his arms stubbornly "This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Seances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeezebox concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing."

"Now, don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium."

Rose shook her head at the Doctor "I can't believe you just said that."

"Come on," the Doctor gestured to Charles "We might need you."

Tyra shifted to the side when Charles went to sit next to her. She really didn't like doing this. Magic had been such a big part of her life and now there was nothing. Witches mostly hated her kind, although Kol and she always had good relations with more than a few covens. Both of us tended to run with witches until we decided to take in the people who were thrown out, left or were alone for any sort of reason. Sienna was one such person. Well, her grandmother had been. Kol and Tyra started the Alpha coven in Massachusetts in the 16th century as a refuge for witches and warlocks who had nowhere else to go. They passed their history down the generations and whenever Kol or she had gotten daggered and undaggered, they would remember and get in contact.

"Good man," the Doctor praised "Now, Gwyneth, reach out."

"Speak to us," Gwyneth chanted "Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden."

Tyra blinked. She knew that those entities weren't really ghosts. Ghosts were from the Other Side. Supernatural creatures who died. She would end up on the Other Side to be tormented by solitude forever.

"Can you hear that?" Rose breathed.

"Nothing can happen," Charles insisted "This is sheer folly."

Rose glared at Charles "Look at her."

"I see them. I feel them," Gwyneth sighed happily, gas tendrils drifting above their heads.

"What's it saying?" Rose asked the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at the gas "They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now, look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't," she cried.

"Yes, you can," the Doctor told her, tightening his hand on the girl's "Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."

Gwyneth got a dreamy expression "Yes." Blue outlines of people appeared behind her.

"Great God," Sneed gasped "Spirits from the other side."

Tyra scoffed lightly, causing the Doctor to smirk at her "From the other side of the universe perhaps," he murmured.

The figures started to speak with the voices of children, Gwyneth with them "Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us."

"What do you want us to do?" the Doctor questioned.

"The rift," they chorused "Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge."

The Doctor frowned "What for?"

"We are so very few," they replied "The last of our kind. We face extinction."

"Why? What happened?"

They floated for agitation "Once we had a physical form like you but then the war came."

"War?" Charles frowned "What war?"

"The Time War," the Gelth sighed "The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."

The Doctor's expression fell and there was a boat-load of guilt visible in his eyes "So that's why you need the corpses."

"We want to stand tall," they pleased "To feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical dorm and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste. Give them to us."

"But we can't," Rose protested.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow "Why not?"

"It's not. I mean, it's not…"

"What she's trying to say is that no one wants to see their dead loved ones walking around, Doctor," Tyra finished for Rose "Think about it."

"Open the rift," they insisted "Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth." They dive back into the gas lamps and Gwyneth collapsed across the table.

Rose shook her shoulder "Gwyneth?"

"All true," Charles mused to himself.

Tyra stared at the Doctor, seeing his determined expression. He wouldn't listen to any of us, he would do his own thing, no matter how wrong it might be "Excuse me," she whispered, stalking out of the door. She needed to be alone.

She sat down on the stairs outside, just thinking about her past and everything she left behind. God, she missed her siblings, Henrik. She missed him so much but there was little she could do. She didn't want to go back into her coffin and because of what happened in Russia three decades ago – no matter how much it hadn't been her fault – it was sure to happen whenever she saw Niklaus next. She didn't mean to hurt anyone but when she came out of her haze, they were all dead. Since then she moved from town to city to village and all over again. Everywhere she could go and hide for a while. Thankfully, Sienna was always able to warn her if any of her brothers came too close.

"Are you coming back inside?" the Doctor questioned from behind me.

Tyra's head snapped up "What's going on?"

"Gwyneth decided that she wanted to do it," he told her, holding out his hand to help her up. Tyra sighed, following him down to the basement "Urgh. Talk about Bleak House."

"The thing is, Doctor," Rose leaned forward "The Gelth don't succeed, cause I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around 1869."

The Doctor stopped and turned to face her "Time's in flux, changing every second. Your cosy little world can be rewritten like that. Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

Charles coughed "Doctor, I think the room is getting colder."

"Here they come," Tyra sighed, preparing for this to go to Hell.

A Gelth came out of a gas lamp by the door and stood under a stone archway "You've come to help. Praise the Doctor. Praise him."

Rose lurched a bit forward "Promise you won't hurt her."

"Hurry," the entity exclaimed, completely ignoring the blonde "Please, so little time. Pity the Gelth."

"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer," the Doctor explained "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?"

Gwyneth smiled happily, walking towards the archway "My angels, I can help them live."

"Okay, where's the weak point?" the Doctor asked.

"Beneath the arch," the Gelth cried in anticipation.

Gwyneth walked to stand underneath the arch, right inside the Gelth. Rose reached out a hand to stop her "You don't have to do this."

"My angels," Gwyneth sighed.

The Gelth held their arms out to the side "Establishing the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through."

"Yes," she exclaimed from underneath the arch, closing her eyes "I can see you. I can see you. Come."

"Bridgehead establishing."

"Come to me," Gwyneth called "Come to this world, poor lost souls."

The Gelth radiated smugness "It is begun. The bridge is made." Gwyneth opened her mouth and blue gas poured out "She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend." The blue apparition turned into a demonic, flame red, its voice deepened and hardened "The Gelth will come through in force."

"You said you were few in number," Charles exclaimed.

The Gelth smirked "A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses." The dead in the room started to get up.

"Gwyneth," Sneed cried desperately "Stop this. Listen to your master. This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone. I beg of you."

"Mister Sneed, get back," Rose told him. A corpse grabbed the man and snapped his neck, a Gelth zoomed into his mouth.

"I think it's gone a bit wrong," the Doctor groaned, hiding his face in his hands for a moment.

Tyra snorted "Oh, you think?"

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come, march with us," Gelth-Sneed proclaimed.

Charles shivered, stumbling back towards the stairs "No."

"We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead."

The Doctor looked at Gwyneth pleadingly "Gwyneth, stop them. Send them back now."

The Gelth ignored him "Four more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth." Gelth-Sneed backed the three time-travellers against a metal gate opposite of where Charles and the exit were.

"Doctor, I can't," Charles grimaced, backing off "I'm sorry. This new world of yours is too much for me. I'm so…" He turned tail and ran when the blue forms started to dive at him.

The Doctor pulled the girls through the gate with him, slamming it shut. Tyra looked after Charles and sighed. She couldn't really blame him for running. It was new to him and honestly? This was weird even to her.

"Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth."

"I trusted you," the Doctor spat "I pitied you."

"We do not want your pity," they sneered "We want this world and all its flesh."

"Not while I'm alive," the Doctor shouted.

They looked at each other and shrugged "Then live no more."

"But I can't die," Rose shrieked "Tell me I can't die. I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die. Isn't it?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered, grabbing both of our hands.

Rose shook her hand free "But it's 1869. How can I die now?" She turned to Tyra "Why aren't you freaking out? Aren't you scared? We're going to die?"

Tyra looked at her, a blank expression on her face "I've been in worse situations. If I die now, at least my parents won't be able to do it." She froze when she realised what she let slip and bit her tongue, looking at the Gelth.

"Time isn't a straight line," the Doctor explained, taking Rose's attention off of Tyra "It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it's all my fault. I brought you here."

"It's not your fault," Tyra told him, poking his shoulder. Better pretend to not have said anything before. Her parents were none of their business. Mikael was locked away and her mother was gone. She had nothing to worry about… A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered that she was travelling in a time machine and that Mikael wasn't locked away yet but she ignored it "I wanted to come."

The Doctor raised his left hand and our joined ones "What about me? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I'm going to die in a dungeon in Cardiff."

"Don't diss Cardiff. It's really not so bad," Tyra snorted "Welsh but still not too bad."

"It's Cardiff," he shot back.

Tyra shrugged "Point taken."

"It's not just dying though," Rose whimpered "We'll become one of them. We'll go down fighting, right?"

The Doctor nodded "Yeah."

"Together?" Rose help up her hand again.

"Yeah." The Doctor grinned, linking her hand with his again "I'm so glad I met you two."

Suddenly, Tyra heard hurried footsteps approaching and Charles ran in, shouting "Doctor! Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas. Now, fill the room, all of it, now!"

"What are you doing?" the Doctor blinked.

Charles turned the tap of the nearest gas lamp "Turn it all on. Flood the place."

"Brilliant," the Doctor exclaimed "Gas."

"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose demanded.

Charles looked over at the others tentatively "Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous."

"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw of the host," the Doctor clapped "Suck them into the air like poison from a wound." The corpses left us and stumbled over to Charles.

Charles swallowed heavily when he saw them coming closer "I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately."

"Plenty more," the Doctor murmured, ripping our gas pipe from the wall, causing the Gelth to leave the corpses almost instantly.

"It's working," Charles breathed in delighted relief.

The Doctor, Rose and Tyra ran out of the alcove and over to Gwyneth. The Doctor raised his hands to cup her face "Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They're not angels."

"Liars?" Gwyneth asked sadly.

The Doctor closed his eyes "Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back."

Rose started coughing from the lack of air, somewhat annoyed that no one else seemed to be as affected "I can't breathe."

"Charles, get them out," the Doctor commanded. Tyra threw Gwyneth one last look, noticing the lack of heartbeat immediately. Now that she had the time to focus on her. Tyra had learned a long time ago to push back all the sounds she was hearing and only focus on the things she needed to hear. Everything else was fading into the background unless she decided to focus on something.

They stopped outside the house, waiting for the Doctor to come out. Once he did, the house exploded, throwing him away "She didn't make it," Rose remarked, staring at the burning house sadly.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor mumbled "She closed the rift."

Charles shook his head "At such a cost. The poor child."

"I did try, Rose," the Doctor pleaded "But Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes."

"What do you mean?"

Tyra turned to Rose "She was dead from the minutes she stood in that arch."

"But she can't have. She spoke to us," Rose argued "She helped us. She saved us. How could she have done that?"

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you, Doctor," Charles waxed poetically.

Rose swallowed the lump in her throat "She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know."

They walked back to the Tardis and the three travellers turned to Charles. The Doctor grinned "Right then, Charlie boy, I've just got to go into my – er – shed. Won't be long."

Rose tilted her head "What are you going to do now?"

"I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all, I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital," Charles told them happily.

"You've cheered up," the Doctor noticed in surprise.

Charles nodded "Exceedingly. This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I know I've just started. All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor. I'm inspired. I must write about them."

"Do you think that's wise?" Rose questioned.

"I shall be subtle at first," he promised "The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was no of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word, tell the truth."

Tyra leaned back against the Tardis. He wouldn't live long enough to write it, sadly. She wished he would have the chance but it was after all the year before Charles Dickens died with his book unfinished. She didn't enjoy his books but he was a good man. That much she could agree with. A bit bitter but who wouldn't be?

"Good luck with it. Nice to meet you. Fantastic."

Rose shrugged "Bye, then, and thanks." She shook his hand and then leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

Charles blushed "Oh, my dear. How modern. Thank you but… I don't understand. In what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"

"You'll see. In the shed," the Doctor smirked.

"Upon my soul, Doctor. It's one riddle after another with you," Charles complained good-naturedly "But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this. Who are you?"

The Doctor smiled "Just a friend passing through."

"But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?"

Tyra let out a little laugh "Oh, yes. You could say so."

"For how long?"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment "Forever." With that, he turned his head away "Right. Shed. Come on, Rose, Tyra."

"In the box?" Charles asked "All three of you?"

"Down boy," the Doctor shot back "See you."

They were about to go in when Charles called Tyra back "Tell your brother it was an honour to meet him and that I would have loved to see him again," he said, confusing Rose. The Doctor just smiled knowingly and hurried to the console.

"If I see him again," Tyra nodded, walking into the Tardis and through the console room. She wanted to get out of the dress and away from the others. It had been a long time since she was around people and it felt weird acting the way she did. Caring for people was something she hadn't done in a while but being around the Doctor and Rose was showing her a whole different side to being alive. God, how she wished she could be as naive as Rose again. Life had been so much easier when she still believed in the good of people. She knew she wasn't like her siblings in a way. Yes, she was jaded but Tyra didn't put on as much of a front as most of them. Niklaus was the worst. He wanted everyone to see him as Klaus, as the bad guy and he acted that way. Even around family. It hurt her to see that after so many years her brother seemed… almost gone. She knew that he wasn't actually as 'evil' as he was acting but it hurt that he had to lock that part of himself away.

They were family though and family stuck together. No matter how broken. That's why she was always trying to get to Finn. He was family. Her family and he deserved to be with Sage. Tyra ran into her and spent several years around the woman, making sure that she was alright. Compared to Rebekah, Tyra didn't mind that Finn was with her. She complimented Finn in a way that no noblewoman would have.

Tyra shook her head and threw herself onto the bed after throwing on an oversized shirt and leggings. Someday, she would convince Niklaus to bring their family back together. Someday it would all work out for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things before I'm out.
> 
> One, I want to make Tyra a little bit more recognisable as a Mikaelson. Killing and maiming aren't really in her character but if you have any ideas, I'll be happy to hear them.
> 
> Two, like I mentioned at the beginning. I made a Yahoo Group where my finished/deleted stories are in. The original Universal Vampire and An Original Vampire's Guide to the Universe will be in there as well once I take them down.
> 
> To find the group just search NicholasFlamelFan on .com
> 
> The group is not public but you can join the group and I will add everyone who wants to join in once I get the notification.
> 
> Nick


	4. Aliens in London

The Doctor accosted Tyra as soon as she got back to the console room "What did Charles mean with your brother?" he asked. Just because he was going to give her time, didn't mean that he wouldn't nudge her in the right direction.

"What?" Tyra blinked in surprise. She had been lost in thoughts completely. She had almost forgotten that Charles told the other two that he met Elijah. Great… Just… Just great "Oh, that. He was talking about one of my ancestors. As far as I know from the family journals… He met Charles Dickens after he just started writing."

The Doctor crossed his arms "Family journals?"

Tyra shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by his questions "I can show you the journal. Well, I could but I don't have it. One of my brothers has it and I really don't feel up to meeting him anytime soon."

"I take it your relationship with your brother isn't the best?" the Doctor questioned curiously.

She sent him a humourless smile "However did you guess?"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment "I heard what you said to Charles. Something about running. You ran?"

"I should have guessed that you were eavesdropping," she murmured "Yeah, I ran. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No. No, of course not," he shook his head.

Tyra nodded, unsure of the Doctor. She was sure that he knew more than he was saying now. He heard what she said to Charles and if he heard her saying that Elijah was her brother… "So… Where are we going now?"

"As soon as Rose is done, I'll take her home for a visit," the Doctor explained, turning back to mess with some wires that were sticking out of the console.

It took Rose five minutes to join the other two in the console room and for the Doctor to get the Tardis to land just outside of Rose's house "How long have I been gone?" she asked.

"About twelve hours," the Doctor shrugged.

Tyra hesitated in the doorway, keeping just inside the doors of the time machine. If it had only been twelve hours then Niklaus could still be around.

"Oh, right," Rose nodded "I won't be long. I just want to see my mum."

The Doctor sighed. He really didn't like domestics at all but that's what he got for taking along Companions "What are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know. I've been to the year five billion and only been gone – what – twelve hours?" The Doctor nodded when she looked at him questioningly "No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See you later. Oh, don't you two disappear." Rose turned and ran up the stairs to her flat.

From her place in the doorway, Tyra watched the Doctor walk over to an old poster that was still stuck to a concrete pillar "What is it?" she questioned, seeing him pale. He whirled around to stare at her with wide eyes before running after Rose. Tyra caught the poster before it fluttered to the ground and blinked. It was a Police Appeal for Assistance. Rose… In a flash she was gone and running after the Doctor. It didn't surprise her as much as it probably should have to know that he got the date wrong again. Tyra arrived at the flat in time to hear the Doctor's sheepish pant of 'Sorry.'

Apparently that was all it took for Jackie to go off. She started ranting at both Rose and the Doctor, ignoring Tyra who kept herself in the background. Was this how a mother was supposed to act? Not that she would know much about that. Esther had always been more interested in her magic. For her it had been her older siblings who took care of her most. Finn and Kol mainly since Elijah and Niklaus had been too interested in Tatia when Tyra had needed them most. Henrik… Henrik had always had the two of them and Rebekah but not her. She loved all of her siblings regardlessly but she couldn't deny that Finn and Kol were her favourites. They had done so much for her, taught her so much. When she was a child, Tyra was never interested in being a woman, helping her mother with the housework. All she wanted to do was to learn magic, learn how to fight and how to hunt much to the anger of her father.

"The hours I sat there," Jackie sobbed and Tyra was startled to realise that there was a policeman sitting in one of the chairs. Had she been that lost in thoughts? All that time alone hadn't done her any favours "Days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you were dead and where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean, travelling? That's no sort of answer. You ask her. She won't tell me. That's all she says. Travelling."

"That's what I was doing," Rose defended herself, throwing a desperate look to the Doctor, willing him to say something, to help her deal with her hysterical mother.

Jackie raised her eyebrows in disbelief "When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another."

Rose closed her eyes "I meant to phone. I really did. I just… I forgot."

"What, for a year?" The question sounded incredulous and no one could blame her. She had a right to react the way she did "You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here. I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?"

The Doctor shifted slightly "Actually, it's my fault," he admitted reluctantly "I sort of – er – employed Rose and Tyra as my Companions."

"When you say Companion," the policeman spoke up "Is this a sexual relationship?"

"No," the Doctor and Rose denied simultaneously. Tyra just rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. Her passport said that she was eighteen but that didn't mean it was foolproof.

Jackie cocked her head "Then what is it? Because you, you waltz in here all charm and smiles and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth. How old are you then? Forty? Forty-five? What, did you find her on the Internet? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I am a Doctor."

"Prove it," Jackie snarled "Stitch this, mate." She hit the Doctor hard and Tyra couldn't quite hold back the snort of laughter at his expression "And you. Do your parents know? You look fourteen at the most. Has he kidnapped you?"

Tyra let out an annoyed breath when all the attention turned to her "First of all, I am eighteen and I don't think I'm any of your business, am I?"

The policeman studied the girl sharply. There was no way she was eighteen "What's your name? And do you have proof of your age?"

"Proof of my age?" Tyra gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with anger "I do but why should I show you?"

"I'm a police officer."

Tyra rolled her eyes "Do I look like I care?"

The Doctor tugged at her hand to shut her up "Not now."

When it became apparent that nothing else was going to happen, the policeman left. The missing person showed up and there were no signs of her having been kidnapped. She was healthy and obviously left willingly.

"I can't tell her," Rose exclaimed, bursting through the door to the roof where Tyra and the Doctor were standing in silence "I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive me. And we missed a year. Was it good?"

"Middling," the Doctor shrugged.

Rose rolled her eyes "You're so useless."

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?" the Doctor grumbled.

"I don't know," Rose sighed "I can't do that to her again, though."

The Doctor's lips twitched "Well, she's not coming with us."

Tyra laughed "That would certainly be an experience. That's for sure." She jumped onto the ledge.

"She slapped you," Rose added, laughing at the man.

"Nine hundred years of time and space and I've never been slapped by someone's mother," he complained with a pout.

Tyra startled. Nine hundred years? "When you say… nine hundred years?"

"That's my age."

She blinked. Was he really younger than her? If he was, she shouldn't be too surprised. Once you reach a thousand years, one rarely finds people older than oneself.

"You're nine hundred years old?" Rose breathed, gaping up at the alien.

The Doctor nodded "Yeah."

Rose laughed hysterically "My mum was right. That is one hell of an age gap. Every conversation with you just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it and I can't say a word to anyone but the two of you. Aliens and spaceships and things and we're the only people on planet Earth who know they exist." The Doctor was about to correct her when there was the sound of a deep horn and a spaceship, trailing black smoke passed overhead, heading for the city. It missed the Tower Bridge, weaved around St. Paul's, then with a splutter, dove for the Thames, taking out Big Ben while it was at it "Oh, that's just not fair," Rose complained.

The Doctor grabbed the girls' hands, pulling them along. They ran as far as they could but naturally, the army had the roads closed "It's blocked off," the Doctor sighed in disappointment, trying to see over the heads of all the people.

"We're miles from the centre," Rose pointed out "The city must be gridlocked. The whole of London must be closing down."

The Doctor nodded with a huge grin "I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic."

Tyra tilted her head to the side "Did you know this was going to happen?"

"Nope."

"Do you recognize the ship?" Rose questioned.

"Nope."

"Do you know anything about this?" Tyra shot, crossing her arms.

"Nope."

She rubbed at her forehead "Great… Just great. So, what are we going to do then?"

"We could always do what everyone else does," Rose pointed out "We could watch it on TV."

A little while later, the three of them were back in the Tyler's flat. The Doctor was leaning close to the TV, watching the news intently while Rose was with her mother and her friends. Tyra had once again taken her place against the wall as far away from all the people as possible.

"__Big Ben destroyed as an UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene."__

Hitchinson stared into the camera. He was standing close to the crash site with the smoking spaceship behind him__ "The police are urging the public not to panic. There's a helpline number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family."__

The channel changed to AMNN__ "The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American airspace have been grounded."__

The Doctor pressed another button on the remote and Hitchinson was back__ "The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find."__

AMNN again__ "The President will address the nation live from the White House but the Secretary-General has asked that people watch the skies."__

Jackie walked up to her daughter, handing her a cup of tea and another to one of her friends "I've got no choice," she sighed.

"You've broken your mother's heart," Ru – one of Jackie's friends remarked, staring at Rose accusingly.

"I'm not going to make him welcome," Jackie crossed her arms.

Ru nodded "I cradled her like a child."

"Oi," the Doctor grumbled "I'm trying to listen."

"__His current whereabouts. News is just coming in. We can go to Tom at the Embankment," __the reporter murmured.

The scene cut back to Hitchinson __"They've found a body. It's unconfirmed but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore. A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft."__

Jackie took a sip of the wine they had just distributed "Oh, guess who asked me out."

"__Brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads of London are being…"__

The channel changed to a children's program Tyra didn't know where some guy was currently baking a spacecraft cake. She frowned over at the Doctor, confused why he would want to watch that when she saw him wrestling with a toddler to get the remote back. Tyra shook her head at the picture they made and walked over to scoop the child into her arms. She might not like being around most adults but children were something different. The stories she told the children of the Alpha Coven whenever they demanded to hear her adventures.

The Doctor took the remote back and immediately changed the channel_ "___Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything." __The little boy Tyra was still holding on her hip was playing with the necklace around her neck, seemingly enchanted by it. Kol had gifted it to her when they were still human. It was a special stone he found deep inside one of the caves with Tyra's name engraved in her mother tongue __"But the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. The road's closed off. It's the closest to the river. I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."__

Another reporter was standing in front of Downing Street__ "Mystery still surrounds there whereabouts of the Prime Minister. He's not been seen since the emergency began. The opposition is criticising his lack of leadership and… Hold on." __An official car pulled up and a portly man got out __"Oh, that's Joseph Green, MP for Hartley Dale. He's Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the monitoring of sugar standards in exported confectionery. With respect, hardly the most important person right now."__

Tyra snorted in amusement "Britain has a Chairman for sugar standards? That's a bit overkill, isn't it?" When the Doctor shot up from the chair instead of answering, Tyra set down the boy near his mother and followed him with Rose hot on her heels.

"And where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

The Doctor whirled around, staring at her with guilty eyes "Nowhere. It's just a bit human in there for me. History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"Right," Rose nodded, not believing a word of what he was saying "There's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just wandering."

The Doctor shrugged "Nothing to do with me. It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything. It's perfect."

"Yeah," Tyra murmured, deep in thoughts. Everything was… "Perfect… Don't you think it might be a little… I don't know… Too perfect?"

"Nah," he shook his head "Maybe this is it. First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay. Now you can expand. You don't need me. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum."

Rose hesitated "Promise you won't disappear?"

"Tell you what," the Doctor grinned "Tardis keys. It's about time both of you had one. See you two later." He pressed the silver keys into their hands, winking at Tyra's stunned look.

After he jogged down the stairs, Tyra turned around and walked back into the flat reluctantly. She sat down in the armchair the Doctor had been occupying earlier, throwing the gossiping humans an annoyed look. Just after she sat down, the boy from earlier scampered into her lap, grabbing the necklace to examine it again. Tyra smiled lightly "You like that, don't you?"

He nodded happily, leaning back into me "What's it mean?"

"That's my name," Tyra explained "My brother made this. It's in another language. A very, very old one."

"Like French?"

"Older than French," she told him.

The women in the room had all refilled their glasses and were toasting "To the Martians."

As those words left their mouths, the front door banged open and Mickey stormed in. He looked around until his gaze caught Rose standing up sheepishly "I was going to come and see you," Rose spoke up.

"Someone's in trouble," Tyra whispered to the boy who giggled at the scene. She doubted he understood completely but he was incredibly cute. Children were so different to be around. They didn't judge you for things… Well, they did but she loved their honesty.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology," Ru spoke up.

Rose looked down "I'm sorry."

"Not you," Ru waved off.

Jackie looked at her indignantly "Well, it's not my fault. Be fair. What was I supposed to think?" It only took a few moments of awkward silence before Jackie, Rose and Mickey retreated to the kitchen.

Tyra kept an ear on their conversation, still watching the boy play with her necklace. Sometimes she forgot that she wore it, only really noticing when it either got tangled up or the string broke again. By now, the toddler had started babbling at Tyra, telling her just about everything he was currently interested in.

"You're good with him," the child's mother pointed out "So you have any siblings?"

Tyra nodded, running a hand through the boy's short hair "I do. But I'm the youngest out of us."

"Youngest of how many?" Ru poked nosily.

"Too many," Tyra gave back. At that moment, Rose came storming out of the kitchen, banging through the front door with Mickey and her mother following a few steps behind "Excuse me."

"He wouldn't just go," Rose shook her head when Tyra stopped next to her "He promised."

Tyra rolled her eyes when Rose's boyfriend started gloating "Oh, he's dumped you, Rose. Sailed off into space. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it."

"He would have said," Rose muttered to herself.

Tyra sighed in annoyance. This shouldn't be her problem. It wasn't her problem but if she didn't do something, she could listen to Rose whined the next few weeks. If she was anything like Rebekah that was. A part of her felt bad for Mickey but he was acting like a bit of a brat right now. Then again… She didn't quite know what he went through this past year but from what she heard it wasn't good "He did imply that he would check out that alien they found. He'll be back soon."

Jackie frowned, no idea what the three of them were talking about. It sounded gibberish "What are you three going on about? What's going on? What's this Doctor done now?"

"Ho, ho, ho," Mickey laughed gleefully "He's vamoosed."

Rose crossed her arms for a moment before she pulled out the Tardis key "He's not, because he gave me this." She held it up "He's not my boyfriend, Mickey. He's better than that. He's much more important than…"

Tyra winced at her words. She was glad the Tardis chose that moment to reappear which caused the Tardis key in Rose's hand to glow. That was her own boyfriend Rose said that to. Tyra doubted that it made Mickey feel particularly appreciated by her. She might not have known Mickey for much longer than a few hours but she could tell that he was loyal to a fault. That much Tyra was able to tell by just watching him around Rose.

"I said so," Rose grinned smugly before realising that her mother was still standing behind her "Mum! Mum, go inside. Mum, don't just stand there, just go inside. Just… Mum… go. Oh, blimey."

Mickey blinked as the Tardis materialised "Huh?"

"How'd you do that, then?" Jackie gaped, following the other three when they went down to the weird box.

The Doctor was standing with his back to the door, entering something into the monitor "Alright, so I lied," he started, still practically speaking to the console "I went and had a look. But the whole crash landing's fake. I thought so. It's how Tyra said. Too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben. Come on, so I thought let's go and have a look…"

"My mum's here," Rose pointed out sheepishly, making the Doctor whirled around.

"Oh, that's just what I need," he groaned in annoyance "Don't you dare make this place domestic." Tyra joined him at the console and tried to read the weird symbols that were circling around there. That must be the Doctor's mother tongue. It would make sense that the Tardis didn't translate it.

Mickey stalked up to him "You ruined my life, Doctor," he hissed "They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you."

The Doctor waved his hand, his expression practically screamed 'I told you so' at Rose "You see what I mean? Domestic." He turned to Tyra "Please tell me that you won't starting bringing people in here as well."

"I don't plan on doing that anytime soon," Tyra shrugged, thinking about how her siblings would react to finding out about all of this.

"I bet you don't even remember my name," Mickey challenged, interrupting the two before the Doctor could make another comment.

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Ricky."

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Ricky," the Doctor corrected, annoying the boy in front of him.

Mickey crossed his arms "I think I know my own name."

"You think you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

Jackie who had been frowned to the spot, whirled around and ran out the doors. Rose sighed before shouting after her "Mum, don't." She pointed to the Doctor "Don't go anywhere," she warned "Don't start a fight." She ran out only to come back a few minutes later "That was a real spaceship?"

"Yep," the Doctor nodded.

"So it's all a pack of lies?" she frowned "What is it, then? Are they invading?"

Mickey snorted "Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert."

"Maybe that's the point," Tyra spoke up, her forehead wrinkled in thought "Someone or something planned this… But why?"

The Doctor nodded "Good point. So, what are they up to?"

Five minutes later, the Doctor was underneath the console with the young man standing over him "So, what are you doing down there?"

"Ricky," the Doctor started.

"Mickey," Mickey corrected, getting annoyed again.

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Ricky. If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not," Mickey mumbled.

"Well, shut it, then," the Doctor huffed, putting his screw driver back into his mouth.

Mickey turned to Rose "Some friend you've got. At least the other one is quiet."

"'The quiet one' has a name," Tyra pointed out without sparing him a glance, flopping down next to the Doctor "So, what are you doing?"

He looked up at her, a mischievous glance in his eyes "I'm patching in the radar. I want to see where the spaceship came from."

"And you couldn't tell Mickey… Why?"

"Didn't feel like it," the Doctor grinned, clapping his hands in triumph "Got it. Haha! Looped the radar back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship. Here we go. Hold on. Come on." He looked at the trajectory on the monitor "That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on. See? The spaceship did a slingshot round the Earth before it landed."

Tyra breathed in sharply "So that means that it actually did come from Earth… But…"

"Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived," the Doctor nodded "They've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?" He got lost in thoughts, thinking about what the aliens could be doing.

Rose and Mickey started channel-hopping on the scanner "How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked.

"All the basic packages," the Doctor shrugged.

Mickey perked up "You get sports channels?"

"Yes, I get the football. Hold on," he pointed at the screen "I know that lot."

_"_ _ _It is looking likely that the Government's bringing in alien specialists – those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space,_ _ _" a woman explained, the camera showing a group of people entering Downing Street._

"UNIT," the Doctor said, a fond note playing in his voice "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people."

Rose frowned "How do you know them?"

Mickey grimaced "Cos he's worked for them." At the Doctor's surprised look, he smirked "Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve month, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the History books and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead."

"That's nice," the Doctor dismissed "Good boy, Ricky."

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?" Rose tilted her head.

The Doctor waved off "They wouldn't recognise me. I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And – er – I'd better keep the Tardis out of sight. Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving."

"Where to?" Mickey questioned.

"The roads are clearing," the Doctor muttered to himself "Let's go and have a look at that spaceship."

The group of four stepped out of the Tardis and into helicopter spotlights. Tyra flinched at both the sound of the sirens and the brightness of the light. How she hadn't heard them from inside, she didn't know. Maybe the Tardis could block out sounds? Or she just didn't pay attention. Happened to her more than once. It was a bit embarrassing to admit as a vampire – an Original nevertheless – but Tyra tended to get lost in her own thoughts sometimes "Do not move," one of the officers shouted "Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads." Police cars and armoured personnel carriers surrounded them from all sides. Mickey took the chance he saw and ran, hiding somewhere further down the street.

"It seems as if they recognise you, Doctor," Tyra poked his side, not bothering to actually raise her hands.

The Doctor grinned widely "Take me to your leader." They were herded to an SUV and shoved in somewhat roughly.

Rose looked around the expensive car in surprise while Tyra was being squished between the Doctor and the door "This is a big posh," she blinked "If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago."

"This isn't being arrested," Tyra told her "Trust me, I'd know."

"Do I want to know?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

Tyra laughed at him "Probably not."

"We're being escorted, Rose," he said.

Rose frowned "Where to?"

"Where do you think?" he asked, a little exasperated with all of those questions "Downing Street."

"You're kidding," she gaped.

The Doctor shook his head "I'm not."

"10 Downing Street?" she clarified.

"That's the one."

Rose grinned excitedly "Oh, my God. I'm going to 10 Downing Street. How come?"

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right," the Doctor admitted "Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times and I've been – er – noticed."

"And now they need you?" Rose finished.

The Doctor nodded "Like it said on the news. They're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of them all?"

"Patrick Moore?" Rose teased.

She got an eye roll as a response "Apart from him. Hey, who's the Prime Minister now?"

"How should I know?" Rose shrugged "I missed a year."

When the Doctor turned to Tyra she raised her hands "I'm not even British. Why would I care?"

"You're not?" Rose blinked "But you have the accent."

"My family is from Norway but my parents and oldest brother moved to the US before I was born," Tyra explained when the car started slowing down "I think the accent just stuck. All my siblings still sound… sorta British."

Outside of the car, the Doctor was posing for the cameras until Tyra hit him on the back of the head, pointing to the person waiting for them in the doorway. Once they were inside, an Indian man cleared his throat "Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times." He handed one to the Doctor "Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your Companions don't have clearance."

"I don't go anywhere without them," the Doctor shook his head.

Indra shrugged apologetically "You're the code nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll have to stay outside."

"They're staying with me."

"Look," Indra sighed "Even I don't have the clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."

Tyra put a hand on his arm, getting the Doctor's attention "It's fine. You go in. Rose and I will be fine waiting here."

"Excuse me," an older woman cleared her throat, coming over to them hesitatingly "Are you the Doctor?"

"Sure." The Doctor didn't even notice the woman, instead, he studied both Rose and Tyra intently.

Indra waved the woman away "Not now. We're busy. Can't you go home?"

"I just need a word in private," Harriet insisted and that's when Tyra noticed her expression. She was in shock and whatever she saw, it seemed important. Especially if she wanted to talk to the Doctor.

The Doctor sighed "I suppose so. Don't get in any trouble," he warned, leaving to join the other experts.

"You haven't got clearance," Indra groaned "Now leave it." He turned to the two girls "I'm going to have to leave you with security."

"It's alright," Harriet threw in "I'll look after them. Let me be of some use." She grabbed Tyra's arm, pulling her along "Walk with me. Just keep walking. That's right. Don't look around. Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North."

Tyra tilted her head "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Rose threw in from behind us before she noticed Harriet's expression as well "What happened?"

To Tyra's horror, Harriet actually started crying. She quickly changed places with Rose who started comforting the woman. Harriet lead them to the Cabinet Room and showed us the shell of what appeared to have been a human once. Tyra poked it curiously. There was no blood or innards, only the outer skin "They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside."

"It's alright," Rose soothed absentmindedly "I believe you. It's – it's alien. They must have some serious technology behind this. If we could find it, we could use it." She started searching the room, opening a cupboard at the end of the room. Tyra looked up from studying the suit when she heard a body hit the floor "Oh, my God. Is that…"

"Harriet," Indra exclaimed, storming into the room "For God's sake. This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander…" He then saw the body on the ground "Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister."

Tyra whirled around when she heard footsteps and saw a big woman shut the door "Oh! Has someone been naughty?" she mocked, an evil grin on her face. Tyra would have probably been apprehensive if she hadn't met people a lot worse than her.

"That's impossible," Indra breathed "He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away."

Tyra raised an eyebrow "Well, obviously not."

The woman stalked closer "And who told you that, hmm? Me." She reached up to her hairline, unzipping a zip that Tyra had only just noticed. It was the same as the one of the skin suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be working on a website as a project for myself. Complete gonna be doing that myself, so it's probably going to take a while but I'll do something else. I'm not the biggest fan of the Yahoo thing anyway but still.


	5. World War Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the sporadic updates. I'm focussing on this story at the moment since I want to get to where I was by the end of the year if I can manage it.
> 
> I also barely have any time to write anymore...
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

Tyra sneered at the disgusting looking green alien. Well, on the scale of one to ten, this thing was a clear four. She had seen worse but that didn't mean that she enjoyed sight like that. How in the world was that thing so fat? Was that why they only took bodies that were big? To accommodate the seven-something foot alien. The Slitheen moved quickly, pinning Indra to the wall by his throat. Tyra let out a low hiss, moving to help him. She didn't necessarily care whether he lived or not but that didn't mean that she would let this alien do whatever it wanted. She slammed into it at human speed, allowing the man to drop to the floor with a dull thud "Run," Tyra hissed at Rose "Help them and run."

"What about you?" Rose questioned, her eyes wide as Tyra continued to half wrestle with the green alien.

"Just go," Tyra groaned, getting annoyed at using human strength "I'll be fine." And then finally – Finally – Rose moved, herding the other two out of the room in front of her. Tyra turned back to glare at the alien, allowing her eyes and fangs to show "What do you want here?"

The Slitheen just glared down at the girl, trying to escape from the tightening grip. It was far beyond human levels now and that scared her more than she would ever admit "Bite me," she spat.

Tyra grimaced again "I'd rather not. I don't know where you've been…"

"What are you?" the Slitheen demanded, raising one of her clawed hands to the pretty face, intend on clawing her eyes out.

Tyra flinched away from her, slamming the Slitheen against the wall enough to daze her for a few moments. Long enough for her to turn on her heel without another word. From outside the hall, Tyra could hear Harriet shouting something about Emergency Protocols, so she just hurried over to them "Emergency protocols or not. We have to hide. I might have hit that thing over the head… Not saying how long it will keep it down."

"Hide," Rose whispered when they came into a sitting room with a large settee and a folding screen by the window to keep out the draughts. She hid behind the cabinet while Harriet and Indra slid behind the screen.

Tyra, on the other hand, opened the cupboard door and slid in. As soon as she pulled the door close, the Slitheen entered the room "Oh, such fun," she tittered "Little human children, where are you? Sweet little humeykins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips." From her space in the cupboard, Tyra could see Rose sneaking from the cabinet to one of the curtains. When she heard more footsteps, Tyra groaned internally. Two more green aliens entered. They were the same shade of puke green as the other one "My brothers."

"Happy hunting?" one of the males purred.

The female Slitheen sighed happily "It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink."

"Sweat and fear," the other one nodded in amusement. Tyra had to give him that. She was used to the acrid smells of humans by now. It came with spending so much time around them. They tended to fear a lot of things and when they were pressed against a wall with a vampire's teeth at their throats… She shook her head. She hadn't killed in a while. Not if it wasn't necessary but that didn't mean that she didn't take some sort of sick pleasure out of it. For her, it felt good. When she lost control, she got high on the feelings of fear and all those negative emotions. It was only after she came down that she regretted it. Not too much in most cases but… Enough.

"I can smell and old girl," the first male hummed "Stale bird and brittle bones."

The female chuckled "And two ripe youngsters, all hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bed before they snap… Then there's the – other one. Oh, my brothers, you won't believe what I found us." Before she could continue though, she pulled back the curtain, causing Rose to scream in fear.

"No," Harriet shouted, jumping out from her hiding space "Take me first. Take me."

The Doctor burst in with a fire extinguisher at that moment, spraying one of the males with the CO2 "Out," he commanded "With me." Rose grabbed Indra by the arm when he continued to stand frozen "Who the hell are you?"

"Harriet Jones," she replied, a little insulted at the man's tone "MP for Flydale North."

The Doctor smiled politely "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Harriet nodded, running out of the door when the Doctor used up the rest of the extinguisher.

"We need to head to the Cabinet Room," the Doctor mumbled, glancing around the corridor.

"The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens," Harriet pointed out.

Indra shook his head, finally coming out of his shock "But we'd trap ourselves. We have to get out of here."

"We can't," the Doctor shook his head, leading the way to the Cabinet Room quickly. Without a pause, he grabbed the decanter from a side table and stood in the doorway threateningly "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Woof, we all go up. So back off." The Slitheen took one step back into the outer office "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens," Harriet threw in from slightly behind Tyra.

The Doctor sighed in exasperation "Yes. I got that, thanks."

"They're a family, I think," Tyra spoke up "At least they call each other by familial terms." She was studying the green people from over the Doctor's shoulder… Or rather around him, seeing as he was over a head taller than her.

One of the males from before tilted his head "Who are you, if not human?"

"Who's not human?" Harriet inquired.

Rose tapped her on the shoulder before gesturing to the Doctor "He's not human," she whispered.

"He's not human?" Harriet repeated shrilly.

"Can I have a bit of hush?" the Doctor grumbled "So, what's the plan?"

Tyra turned away from the conversation, instead walking over to the side table the Doctor had grabbed the decanter from. There was another one filled with what smelt like Scotch. Good one at that. But who would have expected any different from the Cabinet Room? She glanced at the others who were still very much focussed on the Slitheen, pouring herself a glass.

"I said hush," the Doctor snapped lightly "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of the government. What for? Invasion?"

A Slitheen grimaced "Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?"

"Then something brought the Slitheen race here. What is is?" he questioned.

"Slitheen race?" the green aliens laughed.

"Slitheen is not our species," the leader of the group explained impatiently "Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."

The Doctor glanced at Tyra briefly, seeing her raise the glass of Scotch to her lips. When she noticed his look, she shrugged sheepishly, making not effort to stop "So you're really a family."

"A family business," Jocrassa nodded.

"Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a God-forsaken rock?"

The Slitheen to the right cleared his throat "Ah, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"

The Doctor blinked "Is that what I said?"

"You're making it up," the Slitheen accused.

"Ah, well," the Doctor shrugged "Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're going to need it." He held out the decanter to her.

She barely even glanced at it and waved him away "You pass it to the left first."

"Sorry," the Doctor grinned, handing the alcohol to Indra instead "Fascinating history, Downing Street. Two thousand years ago, this was marshland. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson." The Doctor lifted a small panel by the door and pressed the button underneath it, causing metal shutters to crash down across the windows and doors "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And we'll never get out. Congrats. You trapped us inside a room with aliens aiming to 'make a profit' on this God-forsaken rock." Tyra was about to drink some more Scotch when the glass was snatched out of her hand "Hey," she pouted "I was drinking that."

Indra raised an eyebrow "I'm not letting an underaged teenager drink inside this building."

"One, I'm eighteen," Tyra pointed out "Two, we're in the middle of an invasion and you're worried about a bit of underage drinking? Get your priorities straight, man… What's your name anyway?"

"Indra," he replied, setting the glass down outside of Tyra's reach. There was no way she was old enough to drink. She looked like a child. Then again, he knew that people could look a lot younger than they were but still… He wouldn't allow her to drink anymore than she had. They needed to keep a clear head "And my priorities are very straight."

Tyra huffed, crossing her arms. She could just grab the glass back from him or get a new one but she let him think he won this. For now "No one lets me have any fun."

The Doctor snorted at her when she flopped down in a chair ungracefully graceful "Right, what have we got? Any terminals, anything?"

Rose shook her head "No. This place is antique. What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"

"He's too slim," the Doctor pointed out "They're big old beasts. They need to fit inside big humans."

Rose frowned "But the Slitheen are about eight feet. How do they fit inside?"

"That's the device around their necks. Compression field. Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas. It's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field," Rose snorted, poking Tyra in the back of the head when she made her way to the chair on her other side "I could fit a size smaller."

Harriet let out an indignant breath "Excuse me, people are dead. This is not the time for making jokes."

"People die every day," Tyra shrugged, unconcerned with the woman's words. Nothing she hadn't seen before "Nothing unusual there."

"You're very fatalistic, aren't you?" Indra asked.

Tyra rolled her eyes, craning her neck to look at him without moving too much "I'm realistic. Everything ends one day. Whether we want it to or not." She turned to the Doctor "What I don't get is how the Chairman for the monitoring of sugar standards or something equally unimportant ended up as the Prime Minister. He can't be high up in the chain, can he? I mean… Really?"

"I –" the Doctor paused "That is a good question actually. How did he end up being the Minister? I doubt they killed everyone…"

"Can we please focus on the aliens outside? How is this important right now?" Harriet hissed.

The Doctor turned to her and tilted his head thoughtfully "Harriet Jones," he mused "That name rings a bell."

Harriet sighed "Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid and a fat lot of use I'm being right now. The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs."

"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" Rose questioned.

"You're a very violent young woman," Indra coughed, choking on the Scotch he had started drinking moments ago.

Tyra snorted "That's different. Normally that phrase is aimed in my general direction."

"I'm serious," Rose rolled her eyes "We could."

"Well," Harriet murmured, shuffling through the papers "There's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."

The Doctor straightened up "Say that again."

"What? About the codes?"

"Anything," he insisted "All of it."

Harriet shrugged in confusion "Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN."

"But we don't necessarily need atomic weapons," Tyra cut in "A simple missile should be more than enough. We want the Slitheen gone, not the entirety of England, Wales, Scotland and maybe even Ireland.

The others all turned to look at her weirdly. Indra gaped for a moment before his mouth snapped close "How… How do you know that?"

Tyra froze for a millisecond, then shrugged smoothly "Er… Video games? Lots of older brothers, you know?"

"Right…" Rose shook her head "What do the Slitheen want though?"

"Well," the Doctor mused "They're just one family, so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen World. They're out to make money. That means they want to use something… Something here on Earth. Some kind of asset."

"Like what? Gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet guessed.

The Doctor glanced at her in surprise "You're very good at this."

"Thank you," Harriet preened.

"Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?"

Before Tyra could make a smart-ass comment, the beeping of a phone echoed through the room "Oh, that's me," Rose apologized, pulling out her mobile.

Indra blinked "But we're sealed off. How did you get a signal?"

"He zapped it," Rose gestured to the Doctor "Superphone."

"Then we can phone for help," Harriet pointed out "You must have contacts."

The Doctor grimaced "Dead downstairs, yeah."

"It's Mickey," Rose announced.

"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy," the Doctor groaned.

Rose flipped the phone around "Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." On the screen was a photo of a Slitheen being electrocuted. Tyra frowned. Was that why the Slitheen didn't follow them sooner? Had to be.

Five minutes later, Rose was on the phone with Mickey, while Tyra was pacing up and down the room in boredom. There were two things that didn't go well together and that was Mikaelsons and boredom. While Kol was way worse, no one couldn't say that Tyra was better. She set fire to a church once. Completely by accident, of course.

"What's your name?" Indra questioned, leaning against the end of the table close to the pacing girl "I don't think anyone said before."

"Tyra," she replied and sighed at his face "I know. Odd name but it grows on you."

Indra smiled lightly "What does it mean?"

Tyra shrugged "I'm named after Tyr. The Norse God of battles. All of my siblings have Norse names. Sorta."

"You have siblings?" Indra sounded calmer than he did before. Apparently, small talk helped him to relax a little. Being aware of aliens and getting almost killed by one were two very different things.

"Yeah," Tyra nodded, debating on how much to tell him. She could always compel him later and if it helped him to calm down… She glanced at the Doctor who was listening to Rose and Mickey's conversation "A few."

"Older?"

She shrugged "All of them."

Indra grimaced "That can't be easy. Do you get along?"

"For the most part," she murmured "But I have the Doctor now. He's kind of cool."

"What about your parents?" he inquired with a small frown.

Tyra ran a hand through her hair "Why all those questions?"

"I – I just…" He broke off, taking a couple of deep breaths "I need to get my mind off of this whole mess somehow and that's the distraction I chose. Deal with it."

"Then give me a drink. There's no way I'll be able to talk about any of my fucked up life if I can't drink while doing it," Tyra snorted.

Indra sighed and nodded "Are you really eighteen?"

"Yup," she nodded. At least that was the age on her passport. It was easier to get around when being 18 or over. She normally compelled herself a new one every six to seven years. When she reached the age limit she couldn't pass for anymore. She walked over to the decanter of Scotch and brought it to the table "You have five questions."

"Seven," he argued.

Tyra shook her head "Five."

"Fine," he grumbled, filling up his glass as well "So, your parents?"

"Dead," she replied, leaving out the worst part. She hated talking about the people who brought her into the world. That was the only good thing they did. Mikael and Esther were the worst parents anyone could have.

Indra winced "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine," she smiled sadly "It's in the past. So, what's number two?" Tyra was listening to the conversation on the other side of the room, while making sure to also pay attention to her current talk with Indra.

"Right," he nodded "You said you have siblings? What are their names?"

The corner of her lips twitched "From oldest to youngest. Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah and then me."

"That… Holy crap. There's a lot of them," he breathed "How old are they all? You said you're the youngest."

Tyra scratched the back of her head "Good question," she mumbled "Finn is 27, Elijah is 24, Nik is 21, Kol is 19, Rebekah is 18 almost 19 and I'm 18."

Indra paused for a moment, thinking about the questions he could ask next. Tyra really hoped that he wouldn't ask anything else about her life or family. There were things she wouldn't answer, no matter whether she was going to compel him or not. There were questions she would never answer for anyone… Or at least not without a very good reason. She was a bit rusty in caring about people but she felt like it was a good thing to do to make Indra feel comfortable… "Who is your favourite sibling?"

"Kol," she answered without hesitation.

"Why?"

Tyra shrugged "He always took care of me and whenever we moved around, he would always take me to see the area." She paused for a moment "You got your five questions. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Indra rolled his eyes "But I have one more question. You mentioned moving around and your brother showing you around… How much have you already seen of the world?"

"Too much," she sighed "My family's from Norway originally, so I've been there before. We lived in America for a while and when Kol was old enough, we moved to Africa. I just recently came back here."

He sighed dreamily "That must be nice. I can only dream about travelling that much. My job here keeps me pretty busy."

"Alien invasions none withstanding, I assume," Tyra grinned crookedly. She glanced over at the others when a weird sound came from the speaker the phone was connected to "What's that supposed to be?"

The Doctor shrugged "The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it's saying."

"Whatever that means," Indra mumbled under his breath. It was then that a scream came through the speakers, causing all of the people in the room to flinch.

"There's got to be some way of stopping them," Harriet exclaimed, fear in her eyes "You're supposed to be the expert. Do something."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "I'm trying."

"_I'll take it on, Jackie,_" Mickey's voice filtered through "_You just run. Don't look back. Just run._" A door splintered in the background.

Rose swallowed, grabbing the Doctor's arm tightly "That's my mother."

"Right," the Doctor nodded "If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet. So… Judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information."

"They're green," Rose pointed out.

Tyra chimed in from the end of the table "Good sense of smell. Like… Really good sense of smell."

"The pig technology," Harriet added.

The Doctor hummed and Rose snapped her fingers "The spaceship in the Thames, you said slipstream engine?"

"_It's getting in,_" Mickey shouted.

Suddenly, Harriet straightened up "Wait a minute. Did you notice? When they fart – if you'll pardon the word – it doesn't just smell like a fart – if you'll pardon the word – it's something else. What is it? It's more like…"

"Bad breath," Tyra and Rose exclaimed at the same time.

"Calcium decay," the Doctor shouted victoriously as he figured it out "Now, that narrows it down."

Rose turned her head to the phone "We're getting there, Mum!"

"_Too late,_" Mickey breathed out.

The Doctor was mumbling under his breath "Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium. Living calcium. Creatures made out of living calcium. What else? What else? Hyphenated surname. Yes! That narrows it down to one planet. Raxacoricofallapatorious!"

Tyra exchanged a baffled look with Rose and mouthed 'Raxacoricofallapatorious?' She looked just as stunned and creeped out as the other girl.

"Get into the kitchen," the Doctor ordered "Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid. Vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal," Harriet noted, getting a nod from the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned "Just like Hannibal," he agreed "Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"

"_How should I know?_" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with the panic he was feeling. Not that anyone could blame him. Well, maybe the Doctor a bit…

Rose leaned forward onto the desk "Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf."

"How do you know that?" Tyra questioned a little warily "Rose, you've been gone for a year."

"_Oh, give it here. What do you need?_" Jackie asked. The sound of a door splintering caused them all to pick up a pace.

"Anything with vinegar," the Doctor repeated.

"_Gherkins. Yeah, pickled onions. Pickled eggs,_" Jackie commented as she shuffled through the shelves in Mickey's kitchen.

The Doctor turned to Rose with a grimace firmly on his face "And you kiss this man?" When she didn't react, he turned back to the speaker. Over the phone, they could hear a splash followed by a far and then a splat.

"Hannibal?" Rose asked relieved.

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar," Tyra answered her before Harriet had a chance to even open her mouth.

"Oh," Rose nodded "Well, there you go then." She held up a glass for a toast.

"_The experts are dead, murdered right in front of me by alien hands. Peoples of the Earth, heed my words. These visitors do not come in peace. Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds. Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mothership. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war,_" the Prime Slitheen spoke on the TV.

"He's making it up. There's no threat," the Doctor ranted.

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked in a small voice.

"They did last time," the Doctor shrugged and opened the shutters, revealing the other members of the Slitheen family "You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. The whole planet gets nuked."

The woman who had gotten attacked by Tyra pushed herself through her family "And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?" Harriet questioned desperately.

"Profit," the Doctor returned stonily "That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."

"The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price starliner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel," the Slitheen boasted.

Tyra stared at the group in front of her with a raised eyebrow. It seemed to her like every bad guy had the tendency to fall into monologuing. Even Niklaus was prone to them. What kind of sense did that make? Telling the 'good guys' everything so they could come up with a way to stop them? It made no sense at all.

"I give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you," the Doctor tried to reason.

The Slitheen laughed "What, you? Trapped in your little box?"

"Yes. Me," the Doctor said straight-faced and re-closed the shutters.

"_Alright, Doctor,_" Jackie began when she had calmed down again "_I'm not saying I trust you but there must be something we can do._"

"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet mused, sounding like she was dreaming.

The Doctor sighed, running a hand over his cropped hair "There's always a way out. But I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe," he said in the direction of the speaker.

"_Don't you dare, Doctor,_" Jackie threatened.

"Do it," Rose said with conviction.

Jackie started begging "_Please don't. She's my daughter. She's just a kid._"

"Do you think I don't know that?" the Doctor snapped "Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."

"Then do it," Rose and Tyra said simultaneously, looking at each other in slight surprise. This was the second time that happened and it started getting weird.

"I could safe the world but lose you. Both of you," he replied, looking from Rose to Tyra and back.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine," Harriet spoke up, trying to sound more confident than she was feeling.

"_And who the hell are you?_" Rose's mother demanded angrily.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it."

Tyra leaned over to Rose "Do you have any idea where 'Flydale North' is?"

Rose shrugged "Not a clue…"

"We can't get out," the Doctor pointed out, making sure that everyone would understand the consequences "We stay here." He shuffled through the Emergency Protocols, hoping to find something… anything "Use the Buffalo password. It overrides everything."

"_We can't go nuclear. We don't have the codes,_" Mickey reminded after explaining to Jackie what he was doing.

Tyra shook her head "We don't need to. The only place that we need to destroy is Downing Street. All we need is an ordinary missile."

"What's the first category?"

"_Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A._" Mickey's voice shook.

The Doctor nodded, looking at the others in the room one more time. Indra seemed to be just before another panic attack, while the three women were looking at him in determination "That's the one. Select! Fire!" he commanded.

A mouse click later and the missile launched. Tyra bit her lip. She wasn't sure whether any of the others would be able to survive. Maybe the Doctor… As an Original, she was more or less indestructible. It might take her a while to heal from really bad injuries involving vervain and White Oak Ash but other than that… Not much could harm her permanently.

"How solid are theres?" Harriet fretted.

"Not solid enough. Built for short range attack, nothing this big," the Doctor grimaced apologetically.

Rose looked at all of them and then huffed "Alright, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small, so it's strong. Come on. Tyra, can you help me here?"

"Sure," she nodded, walking over with Indra and Harriet, while the Doctor stood and talked Mickey through neutralizing an interception. As soon as the cupboard was empty, the four squeezed in, huddling together.

"Here we go," Harriet closed her eyes tightly, gripping Tyra and Indra's hands just as tightly "Nice knowing you three! Hannibal."

The cupboard shook, then rolled through the remains of the building inside its steel shell. The Doctor eased himself off of where he landed on Tyra and kicked the door open.

Harriet looked out, a smile growing on her face "Made in Britain."

"Oh my God, are you alright?" a police officer asked, hurrying over to the group that had climbed out of the cupboard.

"Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news." And so it began. The reign of Harriet Jones. The officer blinked, but hurried away, to talk to the reporters "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister," Harriet breathed.

"Maybe you should have a go," the Doctor suggested.

"Me? Huh. I'm only a back-bencher."

"I'd vote for you," Rose grinned.

Harriet looked at her as if she was crazy "Now, don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on! We're safe! The Earth is safe!" We followed her through the rubble and watched as she walked towards the cameras.

"Indra," Tyra requested, pulling the man to the side. She couldn't let him leave with everything she had told him. Well, she could but she didn't want to. While a lot of people already knew about her family, they didn't know about everyone "Could I talk to you for a moment before we go?"

He nodded curiously "Sure. I – I wanted to thank you. For calming me down."

She shrugged "It's fine." She looked into his eyes and started to compel him "You will not remember what I told you about my family. The only thing you know is that I helped you to calm down." Once she was done, she sighed and rubbed at her forehead.

As she rejoined the Doctor and Rose, the Doctor had a triumphant expression on his face "I thought I knew that name. Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."

Back at the estate, Tyra was outside the Tardis, leaning against the wall next to Mickey. The Doctor had just caught the child who graffitied the blue box and had him cleaning the outside with a sponge "Good lad," the Doctor praised "Graffiti that again and I'll have you. Now, beat it."

"I just went down the shop and I was thinking," Mickey started, drawing our attention "You know like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is." He showed them the headline that read _Aline Hoax _"How could they do that? They saw it."

"They're just not ready. You're happy to believe in something in something that's invisible but if it's staring you in the face, nope, can't see it." The Doctor wrapped an arm around Tyra's shoulders lightly while he spoke "There's a scientific explanation for that. You're thick."

Mickey rolled his eyes with a small grin "We're just idiots."

"Well, not all of you," the Doctor admitted, grinning sheepishly. He reached into his pocket and held out a CD "Present for you, Mickey. That's a virus. Put it online. It'll destroy every mention of me. I'll cease to exist."

"What do you want to do that for?" he frowned.

The Doctor sighed, his arms dropping to his side "Because you're right, I am dangerous. I don't want anybody following me."

"How can you say that and then take her – them – with you?" Mickey demanded, gesturing to Tyra.

Tyra looked over to the door, as if expecting Rose to return as soon as she started talking "Can I say something, Mickey?" She waited until he nodded before continuing "Rose doesn't deserve you. You are an amazing man, Mickey and I can tell that she doesn't appreciate it as much as she should. Don't get me wrong. Rose is nice and everything but…"

"You talk as if you have experience," he raised his eyebrows, sounding a little angry but even more curious "You're so young."

Tyra sighed, tugging her hair behind her ear "My older sister likes to date worthless men because they shower her with the attention she craves. Don't get me wrong. I love Bex to bits but seeing them and seeing you… Don't let anyone tell you that you're not worth it because you are." With those words, she turned around and headed into the Tardis, waiting for the other two to come back.


	6. Dalek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna put in a WARNING here. Just in case. I think this turned out a bit worse than I think it would. Sorry about that. It just sorta happened. Let's just say the warning is Van Statten being a bit of a creeper.
> 
> I'm also sorry about not updating for as long as I have. It's been a bit crappy recently and whenever I was feeling well enough, my friend and I were playing Man of Medan. It's an awesome game... So happy he convinced me xD
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"About what you said to Mickey," the Doctor started when he entered the Tardis to see Tyra sitting on the jump seat, staring at the console with a faraway look on her face.

Tyra glanced at him and shrugged "I was only telling him the truth. I hated the way some of the men treated my sister and if someone was genuinely interested in her, my brothers would run them off. I don't think Rose is a bad girlfriend or anything. I haven't seen them interact often enough but… The way she talked to him and left him… I don't know. It touched a nerve."

"Is she your younger sister?" The Doctor shook his head "No, wait. You're the youngest, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded "Rebekah is two years older than me. I'm the youngest. Enough about that though… Where are we going next?"

The Doctor shrugged "We'll see. Maybe I'll take you to Barcelona."

"The city?" Tyra frowned, tilting her head in confusion.

"No, the planet," he corrected, grinning up at her "They have dogs with no noses."

Tyra snorted "Really? That's a thing?"

"Imagine how often you end up telling that joke and it's still funny," he chuckled.

"It's never funny," she muttered when Rose burst in, chucking her bag to the side "Let's go."

The Doctor grinned against, starting to run around the console, pressing random buttons and pulling levers, doing whatever it took to make the Tardis go. Tyra watched him in slight confusion. Was it just her or did he constantly change what to do? It was like it really didn't matter what he did. Either that or he was just bad at driving. Suddenly an alarm rang out, causing the Doctor to hurry to the monitor "That's weird," he mumbled, pressing some other buttons "Let's go take a look then."

"So what is it?" Rose questioned as soon as they exited the Tardis "What's wrong?"

The Doctor shrugged "Don't know. Some kind of signal drawing the Tardis off course."

"And… where are we?" Rose continued.

"Earth," he replied "Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."

Rose tilted her head "And when are we?"

"Two thousand and twelve." The Doctor bent down to look at a display case nearby.

"God," Rose breathed "That's so close. So I should be twenty-six." Tyra squinted for a moment, blinking against the light when it flared, illuminating the room. An alien museum from the looks of it. In Utah of all places… Tyra never liked Utah. Louisiana was so much more interesting. Or even California or New York. Virginia too if she were to think of her birthplace. Rose walked up next to her, shaking her head in wonder "Blimey. It's a great big museum."

"An alien museum," the Doctor added "Someone's got a hobby. They must have spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the milometer from the Roswell spaceship."

Rose gasped at a very familiar-looking, green arm "That's a bit of Slitheen. That's a Slitheen arm. It's been stuffed."

"Since they blew up, I sincerely doubt it's a piece of Slitheen. They're not the only family on the planet," Tyra mumbled, looking at the arm with a small grimace. Who in their right mind would spend money on this? Not her… And she really had money to spare.

"Oh, look at you," the Doctor breathed softly, staring at a metalhead.

"What is that?" Tyra asked, coming to stand next to him.

The Doctor tilted his head at the robot's head "An old friend of mine. Well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."

"Is that where the signal is coming from?" Rose blinked, studying the head. There were wires sticking out at the bottom, so she assumed that there was the whole body missing.

"No," the Doctor shook his head, reaching out with his hand "It's stone dead. The signal's alive. Something's reaching out, calling for help." He touched the display case and reared back when an alarm started up. Armed guards rushed in from all sides, cutting them off from the Tardis.

Rose leaned up to whisper into the Doctor's ear "If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A." Tyra nudged her a little too harshly, trying to get her to shut up. It wouldn't help anyone if the group of soldiers heard her mentioning that the Doctor was an alien.

They were lead to an elevator and went up several floors. Outside of an office door, we were stopped by a woman who sized them up "Those are the intruders?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"This way," Goddard gestured, opening the door to the office.

Tyra looked around the room, her gaze settling on an almost bald man who was sitting in an important-looking chair. Yeah, to her the chair was more important looking than the man. He was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. She would have expected someone more… well, important "What does it do?"

"Well, you see the tubes on the side?" Adam pointed to the thing inside Van Statten's hands "It must be channelling something. I think maybe fuel."

The Doctor cleared his throat "I really wouldn't hold it like that."

"Shut it," Goddard sneered from behind him.

"Really, though," the Doctor stressed "That's wrong."

Adam looked at him in panic "Is it dangerous?"

"No," the Doctor grinned suddenly "It just looks silly." Both Rose and Tyra looked at him in disbelief. He shrugged at them and reached out for the item, only to freeze when firing bolts clicked all around him. Tyra stiffened, ready for a fight when Van Statten raised his hand, handing over the curved, palm-sized object "You just need to be…" The Doctor stroked the artefact and it made a fine note "Delicate."

"It's a musical instrument," Van Statten murmured in interest.

The Doctor nodded "And it's a long way from home."

"Here," Van Statten reached out "Let me." His touch was a lot harsher than the Doctor's had been and some really unpleasant notes croaked out from the instrument.

"I did say delicate," the Doctor pointed out "It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision." Van Statten finally got the hang of it, causing the Doctor to smile "Very good. Quite the expert."

"As are you," Van Statten murmured, greedy eyes set on the Doctor. He casually tossed the instrument aside, his eyes straying to the two girls that were with the man. The moment he saw her, he knew he had to have her. The brunette who was standing next to the Doctor had one of… these auras. It called him in and it certainly wasn't the first time he indulged in his needs. Not now, though. The most important thing at the moment is the man "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"

Van Statten scoffed "Like you don't know. We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extraterrestrial artefacts in the world and you just stumbled in by mistake."

"That… Is an accurate summary of the Doctor," Tyra pointed out with a smirk. She sent the man across from her a disgusted look. Contrary to what Van Statten though, she did notice his gaze and she was everything but happy about his attention.

He looked her up and down before dismissing her again "The questions is, how did you get in? Fifty-three floors down with your little cat burglar accomplices. You're quite the collector yourself. They're rather pretty."

"She's going to smack you if you keep calling her a 'she'," Rose snapped.

"They're British too," Van Statten exclaimed "Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy. Got you a girlfriend… And she's blonde."

Adam smiled at Rose with what he assumed to be a charming smile. He failed miserably if someone were to ask the two girls "This is Mister Henry Van Statten."

Rose tilted her head "And who is he when he's at home?"

"Mister Van Statten owns the internet," Adam told them.

Tyra crossed her arms, decidedly unimpressed "I call bullshit."

"Don't be stupid," Rose rolled her eyes at the boy "No one owns the internet."

Van Statten looked at her triumphantly "And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?"

"So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum," the Doctor glared "Anything you don't understand, you lock up."

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten challenged.

The Doctor smirked "I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am."

"And yet, I captured you," Van Statten shot back "Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?"

"You tell me."

Van Statten looked at the Doctor suspiciously "The cage contains my one living specimen."

"And what's that?" the Doctor asked.

"Like you don't know."

"Show me."

"You want to see it?"

Rose let out a loud sigh "Blimey, you can smell the testosterone."

"Goddard," Van Statten demanded of the red-haired woman who had brought the intruders "Inform the Cage we're heading down. You, English. Look after the blonde. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet."

"I'm coming too," Tyra spoke up, crossing her arms stubbornly.

His gaze turned to Tyra "You're welcome to come along, beautiful."

The Doctor glared at Van Statten when he called Tyra beautiful. Not that she wasn't but he really disliked the look in the other man's eyes. He knew that Tyra could take care of herself but still "You can stay with Rose, you know?" the Doctor breathed, leaning down to whisper in Tyra's ear as soon as they were out of the room.

Tyra shook his head with a grimace "No way. If they continue to make eyes at each other, I'll be sick."

They were shoved into the elevator again and taken back down to the floor they arrived on. Van Statten had tried some small talk to find out more about Tyra but she had just glared at him and continued her silent staring match with the Doctor "We tried everything," Van Statten explained "The creature has shielded itself but there are definite signs of life inside."

The Doctor frowned "Inside? Inside what?"

A man in an orange suit came towards them "Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting."

"Metaltron?" the Doctor asked.

"Thought of it myself," Van Statten nodded proudly.

Tyra snorted "I would have never guessed."

He glared at her "Anyway… I would much prefer to find out its real name."

"Here," Simmons held out a pair of gloves to the Doctor "You'd better put them on. The last guy that touched it burst into flames."

"I won't touch it then," the Doctor gave back with a tone that implied that the guy was an idiot.

Van Statten gestured to the door "Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me." When Tyra went to follow the Doctor to the door, Van Statten caught her arm "Not you. You're staying out here with me."

"Oh, joy," she grumbled, jerking her arm away. She was getting really sick of him.

As soon as the Doctor was through the heavy door, it was closed behind him "Don't open that door until we get a result." Van Statten walked over to a desk that held monitors, showing the inside of the Cage.

Tyra licked her lips, cocking her head at the door. She could hear the Doctor through the door and from the monitor. It was a near miss on the door part but she could just make out his voice "_Look, I'm sorry about this,_" he apologized "_Mister Van Statten might think he's clever but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor._"

"_Doc…__ Tor?_" a raspy, robot-like voice answered him.

"_Impossible," _the Doctor gasped, a mixture of angry and shocked.

Tyra looked to Van Statten, only to see him with a huge smile on his face. She knew that the Doctor wasn't normally angry when it just came to someone saying his name. Something had to be wrong.

"_Let me out,_" the Doctor exclaimed, hammering on the door in terror "_Let me out._"

"Let him out," Tyra hissed, whirling around to glare at Van Statten.

Goddard nodded in agreement "Sir, it's going to kill him."

"It's talking," Van Statten breathed in awe.

"Congrats," Tyra muttered through gritted teeth "Now… Get him out of here." She stalked towards Van Statten, intend on forcing him to get the Doctor out. If necessary, she would use force. Actually, she would love nothing more. That pompous bastard deserved everything he got.

Van Statten looked up from the monitor to see her murderous expression and actually had to swallow "Guards. Keep her away." Tyra ducked under the arms of the first guard that came after her, taking him down. She took them down one after the other when she heard Van Statten's whispered words "Well, hello there."

She glanced over at him, seeing the expression of lust on his face. The short distraction was enough for one of the guards to come up behind her, hitting her over the head with the butt of his gun. Tyra went down, not completely unconscious. She stayed on the floor, listening to their talking. From what she could tell, the Doctor was safe now. Something about 'it' not working. She squinted her eyes open before closing them again when the world spun a little. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that the guard had tried to kill her with the hit.

"Bring her to the other Cage," Van Statten commanded, looking down at the unconscious girl. He licked his lips unconsciously. She really was beautiful. Much more so than the last one he had "And prep her for examination."

"Yes, sir."

Two of the guards who had just gotten up from the ground, grabbed Tyra roughly by the arms, grabbing her into the elevator and into the second Cage a few floors up. They felt a little sorry for her. She might have beat them down but that didn't mean they liked what their boss had planned. The Metaltron – Dalek – at least didn't look human. That helped with seeing it tortured day in, day out. A few minutes later, Tyra was shackled to a steel rod with her arms pulled over her head and shirtless.

It only took another maybe fifteen minutes until she heard the elevator arrived again. She groaned a little, making it seem as if she was just waking up "What?" she breathed, tugging at the restraints lightly.

"I see you're awake again," Van Statten remarked, letting his eyes trail down Tyra's upper body until they came to rest on her breasts "How are you doing?"

"Oh, you know? Just hanging around," she shot back with a sneer.

Van Statten snorted "And a sense of humour too. I like pretty girls with sharp tongues."

"Oh, my God," Tyra muttered, shivering at the familiarity of the phrase "Who knew that Kol was a type. Then again…" She jerked back when she felt hands on her body, slowly crawling towards her chest. She spat at Van Statten "Touch me again and I'll start chopping bits off."

Van Statten's hand shot out, backhanding Tyra across the face harshly "Hold your tongue."

Tyra let out a small laugh "God, you really are pathetic, aren't you?" she taunted "You get off on experimenting on people, don't you?"

"I said, be quiet," Van Statten hissed through clenched teeth.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make you," he threatened.

Tyra raised her eyebrow "I would love to see that." She looked at him "Where's the Doctor?"

"You should be more worried for yourself, beautiful," he breathed, leaning closer to her.

His hands started wandering down further to the top of her pants. Tyra stiffened, wrapping her hands around the metal rod her hands were tied to before swinging up to kick the man away from her. She practically radiated smugness when she hit her target. Right where it hurt the most "I told you to stop touching me."

Van Statten straightened up from where he had fallen to the ground with the force of the kick "You're going to pay for that," he spat, going to hit her again before a grin stole its way over his face "Actually. No. I know something better. I think I'm going to see that Doctor of yours. He was very open about his… species." With those words, he turned around, slamming the Cage door shut behind him.

He stormed back to the elevator, leaving the girl behind in the locked room. She wouldn't be getting out, so he didn't have to worry about her until he went back to collect.

* * *

Inside a third Cage, the Doctor was stripped out of his shirt and in an equal position to Tyra. Van Statten immediately walked over to the laser x-ray that was set up, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down "Now, smile!" He ran the laser scan down the Doctor's body, making him writhe in pain "Two hearts. Binary vascular system. Oh, I am so going to patent this."

"So that's your secret," the Doctor spat "You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it."

"This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries," Van Statten explained "All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances I've made from alien junk. You have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian crater and do you know what we found? The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course. No need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?"

The Doctor glared at the man as well, breathing heavily from the scanner "Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species. That creature in your dungeon is better than you."

"In that case," Van Statten shrugged unconcernedly "I will be true to myself and continue."

"Listen to me," the Doctor shouted, trying to block out the pain he was feeling. Something was missing. He was missing something… No, someone Tyra. She had gone down with him but he had been so distracted by seeing that Dalek earlier that he hadn't noticed her missing "That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us."

Van Statten shook his head "Nothing can escape the Cage." He started up the laser again.

"But it's woken up," the Doctor argued "It knows I'm here. It's going to get out. Van Statten, I swear, no one on this base is safe. No one on this planet."

"_Condition Red. Condition Red. I repeat this is not a drill._"

"Release me if you want to live," the Doctor told him. As soon as he was free and dressed, he whirled to the man "Where is Tyra?"

Van Statten pretended to think for a moment "I don't think I'll tell you."

"Where. Is. She? What did you do to her?" For a moment he was scared that he found out that she was a vampire but… No, Tyra hadn't revealed herself so far. Not that he knew in any case. She wouldn't do that in front of a man like him.

"Do you want to get out of here or talk about your little friend?" Van Statten asked, getting bored with the conversation.

The Doctor gritted his teeth, following the man back to his office where the scene in the Cage was showing on a large wall TV "You've got to keep it in that cell."

"_Doctor, it's all my fault,_" Rose called out, looking ready to start crying.

"_I've sealed the compartment,_" the Guard explained "_It can't get out, that lock's got a billio__n combinations._"

The Doctor shook his head "A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

And that was precisely what the Dalek did then. One of the guards signalled the others "_Open fire._"

"Don't shoot it," Van Statten cried out "I want it unharmed."

"Rose, get out of there," the Doctor shouted. He needed to keep her safe. Both her and Tyra. That reminded him. He whirled to Van Statten and his assistant "Phone."

Goddard blinked "Sorry?"

"I need a phone," the Doctor explained. He accepted the mobile he was handed and started dialling "Where are you?"

Tyra looked around, smirking at the broken Cage door "_Oh, you know. Around. I'm fine, Doctor._"

"Good, that's good," he sighed, keeping an eye on the TV "You need to get up here, Tyra. Back to the office."

"_Okay,_" she murmured "_What happened?_"

The Doctor let out a sigh "The Dalek escaped. Be careful out there."

"_I think you forget who you're talking about,_" Tyra snorted "_Rose is the jeopardy friendly one. Not me._"

"And she is in trouble already," he grumbled.

Tyra rolled her eyes "_Of course. Do you know where she is?_"

The Doctor frowned to himself "On her way up from the Cage."

"_Got it,_" Tyra nodded "_I'm gonna go find her and get her up._"

"Tyra," the Doctor stared before lowering the phone in exasperation when the dial tone sounded. So much for her being the responsible one… Then again, today seemed to have been a bit of an off day for her. She always seemed to be a bit out of it, leaning more towards uncaring than she normally did. He couldn't totally explain what he was trying to explain but in some situations, Tyra seemed almost… cold. Not that he could blame her. It was just a little off since she seemed so composed most of the time.

Van Statten looked over as soon as he heard who the Doctor had been talking to "How did she get out?" She had been shackled and locked in a virtual bunker…

"You mean to tell me that you locked Tyra up?" the Doctor asked dangerously "Why the hell would you do that?" The man didn't answer, instead focussing on the keyboard in front of him.

* * *

Tyra looked around the corridor, trying to figure out what floor she was on and where which of the hundreds of doors led to the staircase. She blinked and shook her head. Maybe it was the one with the sign that said 'Stairs'… She was still shaking with rage at what Van Statten had done and her mind was racing with thoughts of her revenge. If it was up to her, he wouldn't survive the end of the day.

She looked down at her phone and scrolled through the contacts. Here… They had exchanged numbers just after the Charles Dickens thing happened, so whenever they needed to, they could call the other. Or in some cases, the Doctor could call Rose from Tyra's phone or the other way around.

"_Tyra?_" Rose breathed into the phone after she picked up "_Are you with the Doctor?_"

"No," Tyra shook her head "I'm still around. Where are you? I told the Doctor I'm coming to get you."

Rose let out a noise "_No. Just get out. I'll be fine._"

Tyra snorted "No time for heroics, Rose. Where are you?"

"_Loading bay. On the way up… Floor 5__1__,_" she replied.

Tyra looked around, seeing the floor number she was at. Floor 41 "I'll be right there. Keep going and don't stop, alright?" She had no idea when she started caring for Rose… The other girl was acting very innocent. For Tyra, it was a reminder of what she had lost such a long time ago. Actually, there were moments she didn't like Rose all that much but for the most part, the two got along.

As soon as she reached Floor 45, she heard a pair of loud footsteps hurrying in her direction. It only took a moment for Adam to come into view. He was glancing behind him every few seconds. Tyra sidestepped when he was about to run directly into her "Where's Rose?" she spoke up, causing him to let out a girlish scream. Tyra scoffed "Where. Is. Rose?"

"I don't know," he panted "Somewhere down there."

"You just left her?" Tyra asked before shaking her head "Oh, for…" She started running towards the other staircase at the other end of the corridor and checked the next level.

Even before she opened the door that lead from the stairs to the corridor, she heard a loud heartbeat and frantic breathing "Nearly there, Doctor," Rose panted "Two seconds."

"Rose," Tyra called, looking up at the bulkhead that was closer to her than to Rose and closed her eyes for a moment. From what she could hear from the phone, they didn't have any time left. A klaxon sounded and the bulkhead started lowering slowly. There was no way Rose would make it at the speed she was going, so Tyra made a split-second decision. She flashed forward, wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist, speeding both of them underneath the bulkhead to the safe side.

Rose pushed away as soon as the arm around her loosened its hold "What the fuck?" she hissed "How did you do that?"

Tyra shrugged unconcernedly, glancing down at the phone in Rose's hand uneasily "I'm a fast runner. Oh, and by the way. You're welcome for getting you away from that murderous pepper pot from space." She paused "Hm. No, that's still missing something…"

Rose glared at Tyra, not understanding what had just happened. She just knew that Tyra shouldn't have been able to do what she did. There was something wrong and she would tell the Doctor because he'd know whether it was dangerous or not, right? "I'll tell the Doctor," she threatened lowly, turning to storm off towards the elevator.

Tyra narrowed her eyes at Rose and pushed her against the wall, making sure to wrap her hand around the bottom of the phone "You're going to forget that this happened," she compelled Rose "You're not going to tell the Doctor anything about this."

When she stepped back, Rose blinked a couple of times "What happened? The Dalek?"

"On the other side of that bulkhead," Tyra gestured over her shoulder "Oh, and here. Put him out of his misery, would you?" She shoved the phone back into the other girl's hands and walked off.

As soon as the two girls were out of the elevator, the Doctor was in front of them. He pulled Tyra into a tight hug, making her squirm uncomfortably "You're alright," he mumbled before pulling Rose into his arms as well "No thanks to him.

"I said I was sorry," Adam exclaimed.

"Doctor… What are we going to do with the homicidal pepper pot locked downstairs? Will the bulkhead hold it?" Tyra asked.

"Not forever, no," the Doctor ran a hand through his short-cropped hair "Kill it?"

"All the guns are useless," Goddard pointed out "And the alien weapons are in the vault."

Adam looked away from Rose "Only the catalogued ones."

"Let's go then," Rose clapped, linking her arm with Adam's.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and turned to look over at the girl who had been worrying him for that day. She was getting comfortable with their presence and was showing her true colours now. For him, it was like seeing himself. Kind of, at least. Tyra was acting like he would be acting if he had stopped… Just stopped. Stopped caring, stopped helping people, stopped being the Doctor. He had guessed that she was feeling like that but today was the first time it really showed. Actually, Tyra had been really amazing so far and she and Rose seemed to get along well enough "Are you coming?"

Tyra shook her head, keeping her eyes on Van Statten and Van Statten alone. The man had pissed her off and he made her skin crawl "I'll wait for you in the Tardis. Had enough of running and almost dying for a day."

"Are you alright?" the Doctor questioned quietly, pulling her to the side.

"I'm fine, Doc," Tyra assured him "Go ahead and kill the big, bad pepper pot."

The Doctor searched her eyes for a moment before he nodded reluctantly. He had a feeling about what she was going to do from the way she had been eyeing Van Statten but the Dalek was more important at the moment, so he ran out, following Adam and Rose to the former's workshop. The bulkhead would only hold the Dalek for so long before it broke out and killed the entire world.

A smirk slowly spread over Tyra's lips as she turned towards the man who had caused all of this mess. She didn't care about the people. That was the Daleks fault and their own for not getting the hell away from a homicidal creature bent on killing everything "You know," she started, stalking towards 'Mr Henry Van Statten' "I really, really don't like you."

Van Statten looked her up and down "Why wouldn't you?" he wondered, leering at her. At that moment, he didn't care for her age. He had more than one underaged girl before. Another one wouldn't make any difference to him. Especially one as pretty as her. Her blonde friend was alright as well but this one? "I can rock your world."

Tyra let out a dry laugh "Oh, darling… You wouldn't even know where to start. Let me tell you something. I didn't appreciate being groped by you. Not that I couldn't have stopped you but then you wouldn't be under the misconception that I was weak now." She flashed to Goddard and compelled her to leave and forget what just happened, planting a memory of her having Van Statten's memories erased. When she was gone, Tyra turned back, tapping her chin thoughtfully "Now for you… I'm afraid I'm a little bit hungry right now." Black veins crept up underneath her eyes as she lunged for his throat.

"I… What are you?" he stuttered when she pulled away, his own blood smeared across her lips with some smears on her neck. It made her all the more alluring and made him want her even more, no matter how scared he was. He shivered. The look in her eyes, though.

Tyra smirked, flashing her fangs. She tried hard to not to "Oh, I think you know."

"Vampire."

"At last," she gasped mockingly, her hands coming to rest on both sides of his neck. She had to hold back the sneer. The man was disgusting her and she really didn't feel like touching him more than necessary. He was filth and she would get rid of it, no matter what "He shows intelligence. Too bad that it won't do you any good." A quick twist of her hands and Van Statten collapsed to the ground. Tyra glanced down at him for a moment, enjoying it for just one moment before realisation set in. She hadn't really wanted to kill him but Van Statten was a piece of scum in her mind. He deserved it and if the Doctor wasn't such a bloody nice person, he would have done the same thing. Although… Tyra would have preferred for the Dalek to kill Van Statten. Karma and all that.

She loved to toy with assholes like him. It was so much more satisfying that just feeding on them. Not that her brothers were aware that she did more than just feed on more than one human. They would have probably locked her into a tower without windows or a key. Tyra bit her lip when she thought about her siblings. She missed them like crazy but she was scared to go back. While she was lost in thoughts, she leaned back against the Tardis. A hum sounded through her mind, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Was that you?" she questioned, her hand pressed to the side of the blue box. Another hum was her answer. Who would have thought that? The sentient spaceship really was sentient… "You – Could you maybe stock some blood in my room? I'm guessing you know what I am already." Tyra felt agreement waved through her along with a picture of her room "You're a clever little thing, aren't you?"

"A piece of home," the Doctor's voice wavered down from the end of the corridor "Better than nothing."

Rose had her hand on the Doctor's arm, looking up at him in concern "Is that the end of it, the Time War?"

"I'm the only one left," he smiled sadly "I win. How about that?"

Rose nudged him encouragingly "The Dalek survived. Maybe some of your people did too." Sadness radiated from the Tardis, causing Tyra to shift a little. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means but it was weird to have someone else's feelings in your own body.

"I'd know," the Doctor shook his head and tapped his temple "In here. Feels like there's no one."

"Well, then," Rose grinned brightly "Good thing I'm not going anywhere."

Tyra pushed off from the Tardis and stepped to the side when the Doctor was about to open the door "Neither am I, by the way."

Adam ran up to the three-time travellers "We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared. They're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement-like it never existed."

"About time," Rose muttered.

"I'll have to go back home," Adam sighed sadly, playing the 'woe is me' card.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the two of them "Better hurry up then. Next flight Heathrow leaves at fifteen hundred hours."

"Adam was saying that all his life he wanted to see the stars," Rose hinted.

"No," Tyra groaned "Please don't take him along. I could really, really do without that."

The Doctor seemed to agree with her "Tell him to go and stand outside, then."

"He's all on his own," Rose whispered to Tyra and the Doctor "And he did help."

"He left you both down there," the Doctor snapped.

Rose crossed her arms stubbornly "So did you and we got out in time. No harm, no foul."

"What are you talking about?" Adam blinked in confusion and a hint of panic "We've got to leave."

The Doctor sighed deeply "On your head." He finished opening the door and walked in with Tyra hot on his heels.

"What're you doing?" Adam wondered from the outside "She said cement. She wasn't joking. We're going to get sealed in." Rose joined the other two in the console room "Doctor? What are you doing standing inside a box? Rose?" He crept in and gaped at the sheer size of the inside. The door slammed shut and the Tardis dematerialised.

"Right then," the Doctor's eyes were glued to the blood on Tyra's neck as he spoke up "Rose, why don't you show Adam to a room? I'm sure you'd like to get some rest after today."

Rose looked at him in surprise for a moment before she shrugged and grinned at Adam "Come on. Let's find you a room."

Tyra watched the two of them leave, not totally understanding why the Doctor took Adam of all people along but it was none of her business. His ship, his rules. She was about to walk after the two humans when the Doctor caught her arm "We have to talk, you and I."

"About what?" she frowned.

The Doctor reached out his hand and swiped the blood from her neck "This. I don't care that you're a vampire but I don't condone killing if it isn't necessary."

"And how would you know that I killed him?" Tyra questioned, her mind reeling. So he did know what she was and just didn't say anything. She wasn't sure whether that made her angry or whether she just couldn't be bothered. As long as he wouldn't hurt her for what she was, she would stay. This was the best thing that happened to her in centuries. She wouldn't throw it away for anything. Even if it meant not killing any – or too many – people.

The Doctor's lips twitched "You just told me. Van Statten, then?"

"He deserved it," she huffed "Everything that happened today was his fault. His greed was his downfall. Pity. I would have preferred to let him be killed by that Dalek."

"You don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor hissed, stepping closer to her.

She narrowed his eyes "That's because you never say, Doctor. I know that look in your eyes. I'm sure you recognised it as well. I'm not saying tell me everything but..." She let out a breath, running a hand through her hair "Talking helps. Or so I've heard. You tell me, I tell you. You can start with how long you've known."

The Doctor tilted his head "Since I heard your last name. Your family hasn't been very quiet over the centuries. I'm just surprised I never heard your name mentioned before."

"Ah," Tyra grimaced "I should have known. Which one did you meet?"

"Never talked to any of your siblings," he said "But I've seen three. Don't know. Rebekah… And two guys. From descriptions, I would imagine Niklaus and Elijah."

Tyra nodded with an eye roll "The three of them were really close. Have been ever since we were human. Kol, Finn and I… Well, it doesn't matter."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow at that "Don't think I didn't realise that you changed the subject. Ty, I don't want you to kill people. Not while you're travelling with me."

"I'm a vampire, Doctor," Tyra shot back "Killing people is what I do."

"You don't have to," he argued "You... You don't have to."

She stared at him, seeing the look in his eyes "I make no promises. I am who I am."

"That's all I'm asking," he whispered.


	7. The Long Game

Tyra was in the Tardis, keeping an eye on Adam. The Doctor hadn't wanted him inside on his own, so she had stayed while he and Rose were talking outside. It was Adam's first trip and Tyra doubted that he would handle it very well. According to Rose, Adam had very much fainted as soon as he realised how big the Tardis was. Not the most promising start…

The door opened and Rose called inside "Adam? Out you come." Tyra pushed off the coral and followed Adam out of the door, pulling it shut behind her. She stepped over to the Doctor and leaned against the pillar next to him, waiting for Rose to do whatever it was she had planned.

"Oh, my God," Adam breathed, jaw on the ground.

"Don't worry," Rose soothed "You'll get used to it."

Tyra grimaced "I sincerely doubt that," she mumbled quietly.

The Doctor snorted in amusement "Some people just can't take it, right?"

"Definitely," she laughed lightly.

Adam blinked around with wide eyes "Where are we?"

"Good questioned," Rose nodded, glancing at the Doctor for a moment "Let's see… So – er – judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year two hundred thousand. If you listen…" She waited for Adam to do as she asked before continuing "Engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here… They could turn the heating down. Tell you what – Let's try that. Come on." Rose lead the group through a metal gate and over to a massive viewing window.

Tyra smirked at the Doctor knowingly "However did Rose know all that, hm?"

He rolled his eyes "Well, she wanted to impress that new boyfriend of hers."

"I'm still wondering what happened to Mickey," she sighed, running a hand through her hair "She acts like he doesn't exist."

"Don't think about it too much," the Doctor advised, stepping over to the window when Rose indicated for him to explain "The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. And there it is, Planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety-six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species with mankind right in the middle." That proved too much for Adam as he fell backwards in a dead faint. The Doctor pulled a face, looking over at Rose "He's your boyfriend."

Rose sighed in disappointment, not even turning to check on him "Not anymore."

They waited in the room impatiently until Adam came around after several not so gently nudges courtesy of Tyra. The Doctor led the three into what appeared to be the central hub "Come on, Adam," he rolled his eyes "Open your mind. You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era had got some fine food, good manners."

"Out of the way," a man snapped from behind the group, shoving Rose into Tyra.

Tyra quickly steadied the other girl, glancing at the Doctor in amusement "That's what you call good manners?"

Suddenly, there were a lot of people bustling around. It was like someone had flipped a switch. The food vending stations were opened and started serving customers at their counters "Thank you very much indeed. Somebody there? That's great. What do you want, love? Alright, keep moving. I'll be with you lot in a minute. Here you are. One at a time. What now, what was it? Kronkburger with cheese, Kronkburger with Pajatos. Do you want a drink?" He stopped serving the woman for a moment to snap at someone else "Oi, you, mate. Stop pushing. Get back. I said, back."

"Fine cuisine?" Rose snorted.

The Doctor looked from Tyra to Rose and threw his hands in the air "My watch must be wrong." He tapped it gently "No, it's fine. It's weird."

"That's what you get for showing off," Rose admonished "Your history's not as good as you thought it was."

"My history is perfect," the Doctor murmured, honestly confused about the whole situation. Something had to be wrong… But what?"

Rose rolled her eyes, not noticing the Doctor's tone "Well, obviously not."

"They're all human," Adam pointed out "What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?"

"Good question," the Doctor nodded before humming "Actually, that is a good question. Adam, me old mate, you must be starving."

Adam shook his head, his face turning green at the thought of food "No, I'm just a bit time sick."

The Doctor just shook his head "No, you just need a bit of grub. Oi, mate – how much is a kronkburger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the vendor called back "Now join the queue."

"Money," the Doctor mumbled "We need money. Let's use a cashpoint."

"_Attention all staff. All coverage of the Glasgow water riots being transferred five through nine._"

The Doctor hurried to one of the Credit Five cashpoints and sonicked the display. It produced a plastic stick which he handed to Adam immediately "There you go, pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets."

Adam inspected the stick curiously "How does it work?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Go and find out. Stop nagging me," he sighed "The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me? Stop asking questions, go and do it." He waved at him and grinned at Rose "Off you go, then. First date."

"You're going to get a smack, you are," Rose threatened good-naturedly before she pulled at Adam's arm, leading him to the food cart.

The Doctor looked at Tyra "You interested in joining me?"

"Sure," Tyra shrugged.

"Great," he exclaimed, pulling her along to a pair of smartly dressed women. He grimaced when he thought of what to ask them "Er… This is going to sound daft but… Can you tell me where I am?"

"Floor One Three Nine," Cathica pointed out "Could they write it any bigger?"

Tyra snorted when the Doctor shook his head sheepishly "Floor One Three Nine… of what?"

Cathica studied the pair in front of her curiously "Must have been a hell of a party," she remarked.

"You're on Satellite Five," Suki told them.

The Doctor nodded "And what's Satellite Five?"

"Come on," Cathica scoffed "How could you get on board without knowing where you are?"

"That… Happens a lot actually," Tyra shrugged.

Suki's eyes widened "Hold on, wait a minute. Are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?"

"That's the first thing she thinks when two people come up to her and ask stupid questions?" Tyra frowned, whispering low enough for only the Doctor to hear.

"Hush," he shot back before sending the two women a grin "You've got me. Well done. You're too clever for us." The Doctor held up his psychic paper.

"We were warned about this in basic training," Suki explained "All workers have to be versed in company promotion."

Cathica had straightened up as soon as 'management' had been mentioned, her expression changing "Right, fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor Five Hundred, I'll do anything."

"Why, what happens on Floor Five Hundred?" the Doctor blinked.

"The walls are made of gold," Cathica sighed dreamily "And you should know, Mister Management." She turned to the wall of monitors behind her "So, this is what we do. Latest news, sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead, Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space lane seventy-seven closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Boe had just announced he's pregnant."

Tyra tilted her head at the last screen "How can a head be pregnant?" she mused "On second thought, I don't want to know."

"I get it," the Doctor rolled his eyes at Cathica "You broadcast the news."

Cathica let out an exasperated sigh "We are the news. We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it. Six hundred channels. All coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going through us."

The Doctor hummed and looked at her thoughtfully. He was just about to speak up when an alarm sounded. Everyone on the floor grabbed their things as the vendors closed up their shops. Things didn't take longer than a few minutes and soon it was only a few people still milling around. The Doctor raised his voice a little "Oi! Mutt and Jeff. Over here."

The Tardis crew and Adam followed Suki and Cathica into a newsroom that held an octagonal desk around a central chair that had wires coming out of it. To Tyra, it looked like something that could be used as a torture device. Without restraints though.

Cathica clapped her hands, walking up to the chair "Now, everybody behave. We have a management inspection. How do you want it, by the book?"

"Right from scratch, thanks," the Doctor smiled.

Tyra leaned over "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Not a clue," he shrugged "But I can't wait to see."

"I'm sure you can't," she muttered.

Cathica nodded "Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot. My name is Cathica Santini Khadeni." She looked over at the spectators "That's Cathica with a C, in case you want to write to Floor Five Hundred praising me. And please do. Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy."

"Actually," Suki spoke up, somewhat timidly "It's the law."

"Yes, thank you, Suki," Cathica rolled her eyes at her friend. If anyone deserved that promotion, it was her. No one else but her "Okay, keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests. Here we go." She settled into the central chair and got comfortable "And engage safety." The seven around the chair were hovering their hands over the palm prints in front of them. Lights started to come on around the room as Cathica clicked her fingers.

Rose let out a small gasp as Cathica's head opened "Oh, my God."

"And three," Cathica started "Two, and spike." A beam of light shone right into the portal thing in her head, making her tense the smallest bit.

"Compressed information," the Doctor explained quietly "Streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer."

Rose hummed "If it all goes through her, she must be a genius."

The Doctor shook his head, slightly amused "Nah, she wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much. Her head would blow up. The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets."

"Then what do those people around her do?" Tyra asked, trying to understand the situation "Since she receives the stuff… Do they, like, sort it?"

The Doctor nodded "They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place. Now that's what I call power."

Rose looked over at Adam who was looking a little pale as he stared at the hole in Cathica's head "You alright?" she asked quietly, nudging his side.

"I can see her brain," Adam breathed with wide eyes.

Tyra rolled her eyes and caught sight of the Doctor doing the same. Rose was the only one of the three of them who cared about what Adam thought. The Doctor wasn't too happy about him tagging along and Tyra just plain didn't like him. Rose sighed and put her hand on his arm "Do you want to get out?"

"No," Adam shook his head "No, this technology. It's amazing."

"This technology is wrong," the Doctor frowned.

Rose grinned over at him "Trouble?"

"Oh, yeah."

All of a sudden, Suki let out a small yelp, pulling her hands away from the table. The other six lifted their hands as the information beam shut down and Cathica's portal closed "Come off it, Suki," Cathica huffed "I wasn't even halfway. What was that for?"

"Sorry," Suki murmured uncomfortably "It must have been a glitch."

Cathica relaxed a little "Oh."

On the other side of the room, a wall lit up in time with the tannoy's announcement "_Promotion._"

"Come on," Cathica muttered, crossing her fingers hopefully "Oh God, make it me. Come on, say my name, say my name."

"_Promotion for Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to Floor Five Hundred._"

Suki let out a small laugh "I don't believe it," she shook her head incredulously "Floor Five Hundred."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica demanded, sounding jealous of her friend "I'm above you."

"I don't know," Suki shrugged "I just applied on the off chance and they've said yes."

Cathica huffed "That's so not fair. I've been applying to Floor Five Hundred for three years."

Rose leaned over to Tyra in confusion "What's Floor Five Hundred?"

"Walls are supposedly made of gold," Tyra gave back in a tone that told everyone what she thought of that.

Suki skipped off to go and collect her stuff before meeting them back at the elevator. She immediately pulled Cathica into a big hug "Cathica, I'm going to miss you. Floor Five Hundred, thank you."

"I didn't do anything," the Doctor pointed out with a small smile.

Suki shrugged "Well, you're my lucky charm." With that, she moved forward to hug him too.

The Doctor made a decision and wrapped his arms around her for a moment "Alright. I'll hug anyone."

"Come on," Rose sighed from a little behind where the Doctor, Tyra and the two women were talking. Tyra turned her head, looking in their direction while accepting Suki's exuberant hug "It's not that bad."

Adam raised his eyebrow "What, with the head thing?"

"Yeah, well, she's closed it now."

"Yeah, but…" Adam gestured grandly "It's everything. It freaks me out. And I just need to… If I could cool down. Sort of acclimatise."

Rose frowned "How do you mean?"

"Maybe I could just go and sit on the observation deck," Adam murmured, trying to make it seem like he was more freaked out than he was "Would that be alright? Soak it in, you know. Pretend I'm a citizen of the year two hundred thousand."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Adam shook his head "No, no, you stick with the Doctor and Tyra. You'd rather be with them anyway. It's going to take a better man than me to get between the three of you. Anyway, I'll be on the deck."

Rose pulled off the key from her neck "Here you go. Take the Tardis key. You know, just in case it gets a bit too much."

Adam scoffed lightly as she walked away "Yeah, not like it's not weird in there." He turned away from the group, not noticing Tyra's narrowed gaze on him. A grin stole its way across his face as he walked away with the key in his hand.

Suki gasped, drawing Tyra's attention back to her "Oh, my God. I've got to go. I can't keep them waiting. I'm sorry." She hurried into the elevator "Say goodbye to Steve for me. Bye!"

"Good riddance," Cathica scoffed. She shook her head again and snorted. Well, so much for her friend "I'm going to go. Not like there's anything I can do here anyway."

"You're talking like you'll never see her again," the Doctor blinked "She's only going upstairs."

"We won't," Cathica remarked, turning to walk off. She held back an eye roll when the Doctor and the remaining girl followed her "Once you go to Floor Five Hundred, you never come back."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Tyra grumbled.

The Doctor tilted his head "Have you ever been up there?"

"I can't. You need a key for the lift and you only get a key with promotion," she explained "No one gets to Five Hundred except for the chosen few." Cathica reentered the newsroom, ready to clean up for the next session. She let out a sigh and looked up at the Doctor "Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance. Can't you give it a rest?"

The Doctor ignored her "But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" He sat down in the broadcast chair, looking around.

"I went to Floor Sixteen when I first arrived," Cathica pointed out "That's medical. That's when I got my head done and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all. You're not management, are you?"

The Doctor let out a small laugh "At last. She's clever."

Cathica crossed her arms "Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."

"Don't you even ask?" the Doctor questioned.

"Well, why would I?" Cathica demanded.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow "You're a journalist. Why's all the crew human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"There are no aliens on board. Why?"

Cathica shrugged "I don't know. No real reason. They're not banned or anything."

"Then where are they?"

"I suppose immigration's tightened up," Cathica tried to explain "It's had to, what with all the threats."

The Doctor frowned "What threats?"

"I don't know all of them," Cathica murmured "Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just lots of little reasons, that's all."

"Adding up to one great big fact and you didn't even notice," the Doctor shot back.

Cathica sighed "Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."

"I can see better," he told her "This society's the wrong shape, even the technology."

"It's cutting edge," Cathica protested.

The Doctor shook his head harshly, trying to get her to see "It's backwards. There's a great big door in your head. You should've chucked this out years ago."

Rose frowned in confusion "So, what do you think's going on?"

"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude," the Doctor explained "It's the way people think. The Great and Bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."

"And how would you know?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Trust me, humanity's been set back about ninety years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"

Cathica froze "… Ninety-one years ago."

A few minutes later, the Doctor was using his sonic on a pair of double doors "Come on."

"We are so going to get in trouble," Cathica muttered "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe. You're going to get told off."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Rose, Tyra, one of you tell her to button it."

"You can't just vandalise the place. Someone's going to notice," Cathica argued as the doors opened and the Doctor started messing around with the wiring "This has nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work."

The Doctor barely looked up as he gestured in her direction "Go on, then. See you!"

Cathica's shoulders dropped "I can't just leave you, can I?"

"If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down," Rose pointed out "It's boiling. What's wrong with this place? Can't they do something about it?"

"I don't know," Cathica shook her head "We keep asking. Something to do with the turbine."

"Something to do with the turbine," the Doctor mocked.

Cathica huffed "Well, I don't know."

"Exactly," the Doctor pointed out "I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose and Tyra. Look at them. They are asking the right questions."

Tyra tilted her head "Did I…?"

"Oh, thank you," Rose preened jokingly.

"Why is it so hot?"

Cathica blinked, looking a little overwhelmed "One-minute you#re worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating," she exclaimed.

"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important," the Doctor murmured, focussing back on the monitor "Here we go. Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout."

Cathica shook her head "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange and you're looking at pipes?"

"But there's something wrong," the Doctor remarked, his eyes trained on the numbers.

Tyra looked over his shoulder "What is it?"

"The ventilation systems," Cathica explained "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channelling massive amounts of heat down."

"All the way from the top," the Doctor added.

Rose licked her lips "Floor Five Hundred."

"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat," the Doctor breathed.

"But the question is what," Tyra wondered, looking at the screen.

"Well," Rose grinned "I don't know about you but I feel like I'm missing out a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"

Cathica shook her head "You can't. You need a key."

The Doctor grinned at her "That's the thing. Keys are just codes and I've got the codes right here. Here we go. Override two one five-point nine."

"How come it's given you the codes?" Cathica demanded.

The Doctor looked over at the camera he had seen earlier. It had been watching them for a while already "Someone up there likes me."

Tyra looked over at the Doctor and then to Cathica who was trying hard not to glare at the now open elevator doors. Contrary to the others, she had seen Adam trying to sneak past them and into one of the elevators across from them "I'm going to take a look around if that's alright with you?"

The Doctor looked at her closely. She had never begged off when it was getting good. Something had to be wrong. Something he wouldn't like from the look in her eyes "Just… Try not to get into trouble, alright? And no funny business."

"Yeah, yeah," Tyra waved off, knowing that he was talking about her being a vampire. She had never heard it being described as 'funny business' though. In a half-joking tone, she continued "I'm not gonna rip anyone's throat out today."

"Make sure you don't," the Doctor murmured before watching Tyra walk away from them before stepping into the elevator.

Rose looked back at Cathica "Come on. Come with us."

"No way," Cathica scoffed, crossing her arms.

The Doctor shrugged "Bye."

"Well, don't mention my name," she shouted as the doors started closing "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me."

"That's her gone," the Doctor rolled his eyes "Adam's given up and Tyra is most likely getting in trouble one way or another. Looks like it's just you and me right now, Rose."

Rose nodded "Yeah."

* * *

Adam stared at himself in the mirror, clicking his fingers. The portal in his forehead opened to reveal his brain. He clicked them again and it shut "Oh, my God," he breathed "I'm going to be sick." He leaned forward and retched. When he was done, he pulled a pale ice cube out of his mouth.

The nurse held out a bowl "Special offer," she shrugged "We installed the vomitomatic at the same time. Nano-termites have been placed in the lining of your throat. In the even of sickness, they freeze the waste."

The whole way up, Adam couldn't help but wonder whether he did the right thing. A voice in his head chimed up that he would be rich. He could learn everything this future had to offer and he could use his knowledge to get rich. He was so lost in thoughts that he didn't notice Tyra looking around for him as he walked to the room with the broadcast chair.

Adam settled into the chair, opened his portal and dialled his home number on Rose's phone "It's me again," he started "Don't wipe this message. It's just going to sound like white noise but save it because I can translate it, okay? Three, two one and spike." Information beamed into Adam, causing him to stiffen in pain.

* * *

Tyra looked around the bustling area, trying to find Adam. She had caught a glimpse of him earlier but had lost him when a group of people blocked her view. She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes. One deep breath later, she started blocking out the noises that were all around her, trying to find Adam somewhere.

Her eyes snapped open when the familiar voice reached her ears. It was faint but definitely Adam "_It's me again. Don't wipe this message. It's just going to sound like white noise but save it because I can translate it, okay?_"

"Oh, that fucking idiot," Tyra hissed as she stalked towards the voice, avoiding people left and right. She would have hurried more but… Drawing attention to herself probably wasn't the best idea at the moment.

* * *

On Floor 500, the Editor was pacing in front of Rose and the Doctor "But that's why you're so dangerous," he pointed out "Knowledge is power but you remain unknown. Who are you?" He snapped his fingers and energy surged through the manacles holding the two time travellers.

"Leave her alone," the Doctor exclaimed through clenched teeth "I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing, we're just wandering."

"Tell me who you are," the Editor shouted.

The Doctor glared at him "I just said."

"Yes, but who do you work for?" the Editor demanded "Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly…" He stopped, a malicious grin flashing across his face "Time Lord."

"What?" the Doctor breathed.

The Editor laughed "Oh, yes. The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girls from long ago. Although I'm wondering where the other one is."

"You don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor tried.

"Time travel," the Editor announced.

The Doctor was staring at the Editor in confusion. How did he know that? "Someone's been telling you lies."

The Editor smirked in amusement. He loved it when things went his way "Young Master Adam Mitchell?" He called up the holo-monitor, showing the scene on Floor 139. Adam was writhing in the broadcast chair, screaming his head off.

"Oh, my God," Rose gasped "His head…"

The Doctor inhaled sharply, still staring at the horrifying image. Anger welled up inside of him. He knew that something like this would happen. Well, not really but he knew that Adam would do something selfish sooner rather than later "What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything."

"And through him, I know everything about you," the Editor laughed "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S. Tardis."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and scoffed "Well, you'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first."

"Die all you like," the Editor mocked "I don't need you. I've got the key." The Tardis key rose from Adam's pocket, causing the Doctor to curse at Rose. He quieted down when something moved at the edge of the screen.

"_Can you be any louder?_" Tyra complained, stalking towards the chair Adam was trapped in. She eyed the key and snatched it out of the air "_Not so smart now, are you?_"

"Ah, there is that other girl of yours," the Editor hummed, not concerned with the loss of the key "From what I know… Well, I'm sure I could persuade her to give me that key."

The Doctor smirked "I dare you to try."

"Doctor," Rose gasped when it seemed like he was trying to throw Tyra to the wolves – or in this case, the Jagrafess.

"And no one is going to stop you from using the Humans," the Doctor spoke up, changing the subject when he caught Cathica behind the Editor "Because you've bred a Human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold." The Jagrafess snarled and the Doctor relaxed a little when he saw Cathica leave in the opposite direction of the elevators. Their lives in her hand now. Hopefully, he was right about her.

* * *

A few moments after Tyra had snatched the key out of the air, the stream flowing in – or out – of Adam's head disconnected and the boy relaxed.

"Are you actually stupid?" Tyra hissed, stalking closer to him. That… child did something and if he had gotten the Doctor or Rose hurt, she wouldn't be responsible for her actions. She grabbed his arm in a tight hold and dragged Adam back to the Tardis.

"Ow," he whined, trying to tug his arm away "Let go of me. I didn't do anything…"

Tyra snorted "Nothing, my ass. You have a fucking hole in your head. Better be glad I'm not in the mood to kill you right now. Otherwise, you would have joined your boss into the afterlife."

"What…? I – No. S – Sorry, Tyra," he stuttered. Tyra grimaced in disgust at the scent of fear and shoved him against the side of the Tardis, mentally apologising to the blue box of wonders. Adam was the Doctor's problem now. Speaking of Doctor, the Time Lord was in the process of storming over to them, a thunderous expression on his face. Adam pulled himself up confidently, grinning sheepishly "I'm alright now. Much better. And Tyra's got the key. Look, it's… It all worked out for the best, didn't it? You know, it's not actually my fault because you were in charge."

The Doctor gritted his teeth, pushing Adam into the Tardis silently. Tyra and Rose followed him inside. Rose glanced at the other girl worriedly, sighing when she just shrugged. They entered in time to see the Doctor punching in the coordinates while Adam was fidgeting on the seat just behind him. The rotor started up and as soon as it did, it stopped again. The atmosphere inside the Tardis was very uncomfortable, no one daring to say anything. Well, Tyra dared but she enjoyed watching Adam squirm.

"It's not too late, you know," Tyra murmured into the Doctor's ear.

He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow "Not too late for what?"

"I can still kill him," she shrugged "Honestly, he deserves it as much as Van Statten did."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment "Didn't we just talk about that, Ty?"

Tyra crossed her arms "And I told you that I am who I am."

"True," the Doctor sighed "But no. I'm taking him home."

"Fine, fine," Tyra sighed and went back to watching Adam squirm behind her.

The Doctor grabbed Adam's arm and threw him threw the doors "It's my house," Adam exclaimed when he looked around "I'm home." He let out a relieved laugh "Oh, my God. I'm home. Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock."

Tyra leaned against the open doorway, watching the Doctor's eyes narrow "Is there something else you want to tell me?"

"No?" Adam blinked innocently "What do you mean?"

The Doctor picked up the answering machine "The archives of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." He sonicked the telephone into submission, making it explode "That's it, then. See you."

"How do you mean, see you?" Adam burst out.

"As in goodbye," the Doctor spelt out.

Adam shook his head, taking a step forward "But what about me? You can't just go. I've got my head. I've got a chip type two. My head opens."

"What?" the Doctor mocked, holding up his hand to click his fingers "Like this?" The situation repeated a few more times with both the Doctor and Rose opening Adam's head up while he snapped the hole close angrily.

Tyra rolled her eyes and went back inside. It surprised her a little that Adam decided to actually get something like that. But she guessed that it was his greed. Not that she cared. It would be fun to see him going through life with his head opening up whenever someone snapped their fingers. She listened to the end of the conversation outside.

It didn't take long for the Doctor to come back inside with Rose following behind not a minute later.

Tyra twirled Rose's key around in her hand absentmindedly. She looked up when Rose went to walk past her to her room, she held the small key out "Here. Thought you might like that back," she murmured.

"Thanks," Rose smiled lightly.

"You two should go and get some rest," the Doctor spoke up from the console "I need to fix some stuff, so… Shoo."

Tyra raised her hands in surrender, laughing a little "Fine, fine. I can see when I'm not wanted." She turned to look at Rose "Come on. I think you might need a tea or whatever is British enough when you are feeling down."


	8. Father's Day

"Peter Alan Tyler, my dad. The most wonderful man in the world," Rose murmured, staring at the time rotor "Born 15th September 1954. That's what Mum always says. So I was thinking… Could we… Could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?"

"Where's this come from, all of a sudden?" the Doctor questioned, looking at Rose. Tyra was standing next to him, leaning against the jump seat. Her mind immediately went to Henrik. She had been thinking about him a lot recently. It was the anniversary of his death right around now and she always had a bit of a problem with the weeks around them. Tyra shook her head. Henrik was dead and there was nothing she could do about it. Sure, she wished that he was still with her sometimes but it had been over a thousand years.

Rose closed her eyes "Alright then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or something, then never mind, just leave it."

"No, I can do anything," the Doctor shook his head, making Tyra's head snap around in surprise "I'm just more worried about you."

"I want to see him," Rose demanded.

The Doctor jumped up "Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for." He set the Tardis moving "Here we go. It's the day of your parents' wedding." Rose smiled and ran for the doors. The Doctor went to follow her but stopped and turned to the other girl who hadn't moved from her place "Aren't you coming?"

Tyra shook her head "No. This is Rose's trip. I'll wait for you here." That and she didn't want to see Rose's father. It would only make this situation more difficult for her. The Doctor could go back and she would be able to see Henrik again but what good would that do? He was dead and he would still be dead after she saw him. She had so many years to come to term with his death and Tyra knew that she had accepted it. While that didn't mean that it didn't still hurt to think about him, it had gotten easier after a few centuries. When he had died… It honestly felt like a part of her died with him, like half of her soul was dead. Kol was the one to take care of his youngest sister after that when everyone else but Finn seemed to ignore the fact that she wasn't doing too well. Then, Esther did her ritual and everything changed. Her emotions were heightened and her depression got even worse than it had been. When Klaus daggered her for the first time, she felt nothing. For the first time, the pain she felt was gone. It didn't last as long as she would have hoped because after a little over a century, awareness slowly return and everything got overwhelming. Time passed and she got more accustomed to living with half a soul. The reason she couldn't and wouldn't go back to see Henrik was because it would destroy everything she had so carefully built with Kol's help. She didn't ever want to experience that kind of pain again. Never again.

"November the 7th?" the Doctor questioned when he and Rose walked back into the Tardis.

Rose nodded "1987." Minutes later, the Tardis was parked between a telephone junction box and a road sign. This time Tyra got out with the other two. Rose wanted to see her father's death. She wanted to be with him when he died. Tyra knew that this would most likely turn into a nightmare. The temptation would be too great for Rose not to at least try and save her father "It's so weird," Rose marvelled "The day my father died. I thought it would be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day."

"The past is another country," the Doctor pointed out softly "1987 is just the Isle of Wight. Are you sure about this?"

Rose nodded "Yeah." The three were standing on the pavement where it was supposed to happen "This is it. Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, that stupid vase…" A green van came around the corner "He got out of the car." It pulled into the curb "And crossed the road. Oh, God. This is it."As the red-haired man got out of the can, the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand. A beige car came around the corner, headed straight for the frozen man. The driver shielded his face with his arm and just kept going, leaving Rose's father and the broken vase in the middle of the road."

"Go to him," the Doctor murmured "Quick."

Rose didn't move. She was just staring at her father before running off. They were just around the corner as sirens approached "It's too late now," she whispered "By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead. He can't die on his own. Can I try again?" Tyra barely held back from saying anything. This was between Rose and the Doctor. If he thought this was a good idea. Tyra certainly didn't. Maybe it was because she knew what she would do in the girl's position or it was because, in Tyra's case, the whole world would change.

Tyra walked into the Tardis behind the Doctor quietly as he took the Tardis back around fifteen minutes. Soon, they were looking around the corner, watching their former selves "Right, that's the first us," the Doctor explained quietly "It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs off and we follow, then go to your dad."

"I can't do this," Rose cried out, startling into motion as she ran towards her father.

The Doctor had his hand outstretched "Rose. No!"

Rose dashed past her old self and pushed her father out of the path of the beige car. The vase rolled underneath the car, unbroken, while their earlier versions vanished into thin air. A bad feeling spread inside Tyra's stomach as she stared at the scene. She might have been able to react in time but… Why would she? She wasn't there to stop Rose or the Doctor from making mistakes "This is bad, isn't it?" Tyra questioned quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. She should have just stayed in bed. Everything about this made her uncomfortable. Every single thing that happened here was too much and she just wanted to curl up in her bed and forget the world until the week around Henrik's anniversary was over.

"Yes," the Doctor forced out, glaring at Rose from across the street. Rose bounced back over to them happily, dragging them to her father's car, shoving the two into the backseat without a word.

"Right," Pete spoke up after they entered his flat. The drive had been silent with Tyra staring out of the window, lost in thought and the Doctor stewing angrily in his seat "Sorry about the mess. If you want a cup of tea, milk's in the fridge. Well, it would be, wouldn't it? Where else would you put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sill outside. I always thought if someone invented a window sill with special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yoghurt, make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things." His expression lit up "I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that, excuse me for a minute. Got to go and change."

As soon as the time travellers were along, Rose walked around, touching several trinkets with a wistful smile "All the stuff Mum kept. His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she's had a bit to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be." She picked up a small trophy "Third price at bowling. First two got to go to Didcot." Rose put it back and looked at the bottles on the ground "Health drinks. Tonics, Mum used to call them. He made his money selling this Vitex stuff. He had all sorts of jobs. He was so clever. Solar power. Mum said he was going to do this. Now he can. Okay, look I'll tell him you're not my boyfriend."

"When we met," the Doctor started darkly "I said travel with me in space. You said no. Then I said time machine."

"It wasn't some big plan," Rose rolled her eyes in amusement "I just saw it happening and I thought, I can stop it."

The Doctor stalked forward "There's a man alive who wouldn't be," he snapped, his rage visible.

Rose looked at Tyra pleadingly, a little shocked by the emotionless look on the other girl's face "Tyra…"

"Don't bring me into this," she shook her head, avoiding to look at Rose for too long. She had so many things… so many regrets, that she would change if she could. But those mistakes were what shaped her, what made her… Well, herself.

The Doctor threw up his hands "I did it again," he grumbled "I picked another stupid ape. I should have known. It's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you."

"That's not fair," Rose cut in "It's okay for you to go to other times and save people's lives but not when it's me saving my dad?"

"I know what I'm doing," the Doctor exclaimed "You don't. Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point."

Rose tilted her head "But he's alive."

"My entire planet died," he pointed out with forced calm in his voice "My whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?"

"Would you rather him dead?" Rose snapped.

The Doctor shook his head in exasperation "I'm not saying that."

"No, I get it," Rose smirked "For once, you're not the most important man in my life."

"Let's see how you get on without me, then," the Doctor murmured "Give me the key. The Tardis key. If I'm so insignificant, give me it back."

Rose slapped the key into his open hand angrily "Alright then, I will."

"You've got what you wanted," the Doctor declared "So that's goodbye then."

"You don't scare me," Rose pointed out "I know how sad you are. You'll be back in a minute or you'll hang around outside the Tardis waiting for me. And I'll make you wait a long time."

The Doctor turned around, holding out his hand for Tyra to take. She hesitated for a moment but then slid her hand into his "You forget that you're not the only person travelling with me." The two of them walked outside, leaving Rose staring after them in anger. The Doctor turned to look down at Tyra "Are you alright?"

Tyra shrugged "I should be asking you that," she murmured quietly "I'm sorry about what she said."

"Don't be," he shook his head "Rose was out of line. Come on." The Doctor pulled her along, back to where the Tardis was. Once they reached her, he unlocked the doors and opened then, only to reveal an empty police box. The complete interior was missing "Rose," he exclaimed, running off.

* * *

Rose glared at the now closed door. Pete peaked out from his bedroom "Boyfriend trouble?" When Rose didn't replay, he shrugged, disappearing back into the room.

After a few minutes, Rose stared putting peanuts back into their bowl as Pete changed into his wedding suit "Excuse me, do you mind? What're you tidying up for?"

Rose grimaced "Sorry. Force of habit."

"Listen, don't worry about him," Pete smiled "Couples have rows all the time."

"We're not a couple," Rose shook her head "I think he left me, though."

Pete tilted his head "Oh, is he with the other girl then?"

"No, no," Rose denied "We're just friends."

"What, a pretty girl like you?" Pete questioned "If I was going out with you…"

Rose held up her hand "Stop right there."

"I was just saying."

"I know what you're saying," Rose argued "And we're not going there. At no point are we going anywhere near there. You aren't even aware that there exists. I don't even want to think about there and believe me, neither do you. There for you is like – like the Bermuda Triangle."

Pete blinked at her in astonishment "Blimey," he muttered "You know how to flatter a bloke."

"Right, are we off?" Rose asked, offering Pete her arm.

"So… That wouldn't be a mixed signal at all?" Pete asked.

Rose shrugged "Absolutely not."

Pete snorted "I'll take you back to the loony bin where you belong." He stopped, looking at the girl thoughtfully "Except I'm sure I've met you somewhere before."

They got in the car silently, Rose mulling over what to do with the Doctor and Pete, trying to think of something to say. Something, anything at all "I met this bloke at the horse's," he started, already cursing himself for the chosen topic "And he's cutting me in on copyright."

"But I thought you were a proper businessman and that," Rose told him.

Pete laughed "I wish. Oh, I do a bit of this, a bit of that. I scrape by."

Rose hummed "Right. So I must have heard wrong. So, really you're a bit of a Del Boy?"

"Oh, shoot me down in flames. You're not related to my wife by any chance, are you?"

Rose's eyes widened "Oh, my God. She's going to be at the wedding."

"What, Jackie?" Pete inquired in confusion "Do you know her?"

"Sort of," Rose hedged.

Pete groaned quietly "What's she told you about me, then?"

Rose paused for a moment "She said she'd picked the most fantastic man in the world."

"Must be a different Jackie, then," Pete mumbled "She'd never say that." All of a sudden, the radio changed to a rap channel, causing the man to grimace "This stuff goes right over my head."

"That's not out yet," Rose mused.

Pete ignored her "It's a good job and all."

"I'm just going to check my messages," Rose told him, pulling out her phone without a second thought.

"How do you mean, messages?" He glanced at the tiny thing in the girl's hand "Is that a phone?"

Rose nodded absentmindedly "Yeah." She looked up in time to see a beige car appearing in front of them, driving towards them "Dad," she exclaimed.

Pete swerved into the kerb, just barely missing a tree "It's that car," he pointed out breathlessly "Same one as before. It was right in front of us. Where's he gone?" He stopped, looking over at Rose in confusion "You called me Dad. What'd you say that for?"

"Oh, wonderful," Jackie scoffed, stalking over to her husband "Here he is, the accident waiting to happen. You'd be late for your own funeral and it nearly was."

"No damage done," Pete shrugged defensively.

Jackie rolled her eyes before turning her attention to the girl who had arrived with Pete "And who's this?" she asked in disdain "What're you looking at with your mouth open?"

"Your hair," Rose breathed.

"What?!"

"I've never seen it like…" she shook her head "I mean, it's lovely. Your hair's lovely. And that baby you're holding… that would be your baby."

Jackie snorted "Another one of yours, is she?"

"She saved my life," Pete exclaimed, trying to defend himself.

"Oh, that's a new one," Jackie gasped in mock surprise "What was it last time?"

"I didn't even know her," Pete pointed out "She was a cloakroom attendant. I was helping her look for my ticket. There were three duffel coats all the same. Somehow the rack collapsed. We were under all this stuff."

"Were you playing around?" Rose questioned in shock.

Jackie looked her up and down "You'd know."

"Oh, cause I'm that stupid," Pete rolled his eyes "I play around and I bring her to meet the missing. You silly cow."

"But you are that stupid," Jackie said nastily.

Pete closed his eyes "Can we keep this stuff back home just for now?" he asked quietly.

"What, with the rest of your rubbish?" Jackie continued, steamrolling all over her husband's feelings "You bring home cut-price detergents, tonic water, Betamax tapes and none of it works. I'm drowning in your rubbish. What did he tell you? Did he say he's this big businessman, cause he's not. He's a failure. Born failure, that one. Rose needs a proper father, not one who's flannelling about like some big kid."

"Jackie, I'm making a living," Pete argued "It keeps us fed, doesn't it?"

Rose stared at her parents with wide eyes, shaking her head "Stop it," she demanded "You're not like this. You love each other."

"Oh, Pete," Jackie cooed in annoyance "You never used to like them mental. Or… I don't know, maybe you did."

"Jackie, wait," Pete called out, hurrying after his wife "Just listen."

"If you're not careful, there'll be a wedding and a divorce on the same day."

Pete turned to Rose "Wait here. Give us a couple of minutes with the missus. Tell you what, straighten the car up. Stick it round the corner or something. Don't cause any more trouble." He took the vase, shoving his car keys at Rose.

Jackie turned away when Pete came closer "I'm not listening. It's just the duffel coats all over again."

"Jackie, sometimes a duffel coat is just a duffel coat," Pete sighed "Things will get better, I promise."

"I've had enough of all your daft schemes. I never know where the next meal's coming from," Jackie told him seriously, clutching Baby Rose to her chest.

"I'll get it right, love," Pete vowed "One day soon, I promise you, I'll get it right. Come on."

A little boy ran around the corner, screaming "Monsters. Going to eat us!"

A woman chuckled "What sort of monsters, sweetheart? Is it aliens?"

Mickey ignored her, running straight into the church as the Doctor and Tyra came into view of the church.

* * *

The Doctor and Tyra rushed to the church as fast as the Doctor could. Once they reached the ground, the Doctor started shouting "Rose! Get in the church!" Rose turned, a smug smile on her face "Get in the church." A large thing with bat-like wings appeared in the sky, hissing and swooping. Rose screamed as the Doctor pushed her down just in time to avoid its talons. Two more of the creatures appeared, randomly trying to pounce on people.

"Oh, my God," a woman breathed "What are they?"

"Inside," the Doctor commanded, pushing several people in the direction of the doors.

The groom froze, looking around frantically "Sarah!"

"Stay in there," the Doctor told him.

An older man tried to run away but he got pounced on while another of the creatures blocked the bride's path. She screamed, raising her hands to cover her face. Tyra grabbed her arm as the creature flew off to pounce on the vicar instead, pulling her along and into the church.

As soon as everyone was inside, the Doctor slammed the doors on the creatures "They can't get in. Old windows and doors. Okay. The older something is, the stronger it is. What else?" He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment "Go and check the other doors. Move!"

"What's happening?" Jackie shrieked "What are they?"

"There's been an accident in time," the Doctor waved off "A wound in time. They're like bacteria. Taking advantage."

Jackie frowned "What do you mean, time? What are you jabbering on about, time?"

Tyra turned her attention from the Doctor to the couple, sitting huddled together on one of the benches "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thanks to you," Sarah smiled shakily "What are those things?"

Tyra shrugged "Sorry, I have no idea. But if anyone can help it's the Doctor. I promise you that this will turn out alright… In the end."

"My dad was out there," the groom murmured.

"You can mourn him later," the Doctor said "Right now we've got to concentrate on keeping ourselves alive."

Stuart shook his head "My dad had…"

"There's nothing I can do for him," the Doctor cut him off.

Tyra rolled her eyes and cuffed him lightly "Doctor, listen to him."

"But he had this phone thing. I can't get it to work," Stuart gestured "I keep getting this voice."

"_Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you._"

Tyra blinked in surprise "Is that Alexander Graham Bell?"

"It is," the Doctor sighed "I don't think the telephone's going to be much use."

Rose came up behind him "Is this because…? Is this my fault?"

Tyra didn't want to be near Rose at the moment and looked around to find something else to do. Really, she could understand the other girl but that didn't mean she liked what Rose did. Eventually, Tyra settled on Jackie and the baby she was looking over. She stepped closer nervously. The only babies she had been close to were the newborns and children of the Coven and those children tended to adore both her and – when he was around – Kol.

Jack looked up at the young girl "Can you do me a favour and look after Rose for a moment? I need to check on Mickey."

"Sure," Tyra nodded, blinking after the woman when she left. She glanced down at the baby and carefully lifted Rose from the carrier "Hello there, little Rose," she whispered, tickling the girl's stomach "You're a cute little one, aren't you?"

"I seem to be asking this a lot recently but are you alright?" the Doctor's voice sounded from behind her "You've been more quiet than normal, staying in your room more often that not."

Tyra smiled sadly "I'm fine," she told him "I just… This whole thing is bringing up memories I'd rather not relieve."

"It'll be okay," the Doctor reassured her "We'll get this over with somehow…" He then turned to the baby cooing in Tyra's arms "Now, Rose you're not going to bring about the end of the world, are you? Are you?"

Rose walked up to them again "I'd better be careful. I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken." She reached out to take the baby.

"No," the Doctor snapped "Don't touch the baby. You're both the same person. That's a paradox and we don't want a paradox happening, not with these things outside. Anything new, any disturbance in time makes them stronger. The paradox might let them in."

Rose sighed in defeat "I can't do anything right, can I?"

"Since you asked, no. So, don't touch the baby."

"I'm not stupid," Rose cried out.

The Doctor scoffed "Could have fooled me." Tyra groaned at both of them fighting and bounced Baby Rose a bit because she looked about ready to burst into tears "Alright, I'm sorry. I wasn't really going to leave you on your own."

"I know."

"But between us, I haven't got a plan," the Doctor admitted "No idea. No way out. The entire Earth's been sterilized. This, and other places like it, are all that's left of the Human race. We might hold out for a while but nothing can stop those creatures. They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old. And there's nothing I can do to stop them. There used to be laws stopping this kind of thing from happening. My people would have stopped this. But they're all gone. And now, I'm going the same way." He walked off, sitting down on one of the benches, his head in his hands.

Rose sighed and joined him, a pained expression on her face "If I'd realised…"

"Just tell me you're sorry," the Doctor murmured.

"I am," Rose nodded "I'm sorry." They hugged and Rose pulled back suddenly "Have you got something hot?" At the same time as she said that, Tyra hissed in pain, the key around her neck starting to burn into her skin. Rose reached into his inside pocket, taking out her key and dropped it immediately because it was glowing hot. Tyra gritted her teeth, placing the baby back into her carrier. Once Baby Rose was safe, she ripped the chain from her neck, dropping it onto the bench quickly.

The Doctor gaped down at the silver object "It's the Tardis key." He took off his jacket and picked it up "It's telling me it's still connected to the Tardis." The Doctor made an announcement from the pulpit "The inside of my ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use this to bring it back. And once I've got my ship back, then I can mend everything. Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anyone got a battery?"

Stuart picked up the mobile phone "This one big enough?"

"Fantastic," the Doctor grinned, accepting the phone "Just need to do a bit of charging up and then we can bring everyone back." He sonicked the battery while the creatures continued to batter at the doors. Tyra was standing close to the Doctor, watching as the Tardis slowly materialised around the key "Right, no one touches that key. Have you got that? Don't touch it. Anyone touches that key, it'll be – well – zap. Just leave it be and everything will be fine. We'll get out of here." He nodded to the couple "All of us. Stuart, Sarah, you're going to get married, just like I said."

"When time gets sorted out…" Rose trailed off.

The Doctor rubbed a hand over his short hair "Everybody here forgets what happened. And don't worry, the thing that you changed will stay changed."

Pete cleared his throat "You mean I'll still be alive, though I'm meant to be dead. That's why I haven't done anything with my life, why I didn't mean anything."

"It doesn't work like that," the Doctor shook his head.

"Rubbish," Pete shook his head "I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all of this has happened."

Tyra bit her lip "You love your child. In my books, that doesn't make you useless."

Rose shook her head "This is my fault."

"No, love," Pete smiled gently "I'm your dad. It's my job for it to be my fault."

Jackie's face contorted "Her dad? How are you her dad? How old were you, twelve? Oh, that's disgusting."

"Jacks, listed," Pete murmured "This is Rose."

That turned out the wrong thing to say. Jackie's face turned red "Rose? How sick is that? You give my daughter a second-hand name? How many are there? Do you call them all Rose?"

Tyra turned to look up at the Doctor "It's good to know that she started out that way… I think."

"Doesn't make it any less terrifying," the Doctor whispered.

"You just say that because she slapped you," Tyra laughed.

Pete groaned "Oh, god God's sake, look. It's the same Rose." He grabbed the baby out of Jackie's arms and shoved her into Rose's.

The Doctor startled into motion "Rose! No!" He snatched the little Rose away a moment too late and gave her back to Jackie. One of the creatures appeared inside the church, screeching at all of them "Everyone behind me. I'm the oldest thing in the room."

Tyra narrowed her eyes. She couldn't let him die. They needed him to solve this crap. She moved a little faster than the average human should be able to and got between the Doctor and the creature just in time.

* * *

The next thing Tyra knew was blackness and then the blackness brightened, turning into the familiar area of her home.

"You aren't supposed to be here, Ty," a familiar voice made her gasp, tears filling her eyes.

"Henri," she breathed, throwing herself in her twin's waiting arms "Missed you."

Henrik tightened his arms around Tyra's small frame "I know, sissy. But you can't go on like this. Please, try and live? For me? It's been centuries since I died. You have to let go."

Tyra sniffled, trying desperately to hold back the emotions that were threatening to swallow her "I don't want to live without you, Henri. I want to stay here with you."

"You can't," Henrik sighed sadly "I'm sorry, Ty but you have to go back. The Doctor needs you, our siblings need you… That friend of yours needs you."

"No," Tyra shouted when she felt an invisible force push her back, away from her brother "Please, Henri. I don't want to lose you. Please let me stay." She didn't care that she was begging. She wanted to stay. Wanted to be with him once more.

"I'm sorry." The world blurred around her and soon she was back in the church, kneeling on the ground.

"No," she whispered, tears falling from her eyes "Henri." Tyra buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

A hand touched her shoulder gently, the Doctor crouching down next to her crumpled figure "Tyra. What's wrong?"

"N – Nothing," she replied, trying to pull her masks back up "I'm alright."

"Don't do that," the Doctor admonished gently "Don't hide from me. If you don't want to talk here, that's fine but please talk to me."

Tyra looked up at the Doctor, her eyes catching Rose by the doors of the church "You should talk to Rose. She needs you right now."

"What about you?"

"I need to be alone for a moment," she whispered, watching her hands shaking violently. The Doctor sighed and got up to join Rose outside.

Not even a minute after Tyra was left alone, she heard rustling behind her. Sarah knelt down next to her "Who's Henry?"

Tyra wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged, blinking away the tears. The desperation and pain were slowly going away, numbness spreading through her whole body "It doesn't matter… What matters is that everyone is alright and this situation is over. Excuse me." She jumped up and pushed past several people to get outside. The Doctor and Rose were talking a bit off to the side but Tyra just walked on, back to the Tardis.

About half an hour later, Tyra found herself in the kitchen, making herself a sandwich. She had been craving one for some odd reason, so there she was.

Rose walked in only minutes after Tyra started. As soon as she saw that Tyra was there, she started ranting "Can you believe the Doctor? I mean…"

"Stop right there," Tyra spoke up in annoyance "I don't care."

"What the hell is your problem?" Rose frowned "You've been a bitch for days now. I get that the Doctor was mad but you?"

Tyra gritted her teeth, trying very hard not to jump at Rose. Maybe her anger was misplaced but at the moment, she didn't care "You knew that your father should have died. Do you really think nothing would happen after you saved him?"

"As opposed to what?" Rose asked, crossing her arms in annoyance. She didn't understand why Tyra seemed to have a stick up her ass all of a sudden "Just stand there and watch him die?"

"Isn't that what you wanted? To be there for him when he dies? Not save him and start a whole new world of problems for everyone."

Rose rolled her eyes "Oh, stop acting like you know what it's like."

"I watched my twin die," Tyra shouted before she could stop herself "I watched him getting mauled to death by a pack of wolves. Don't you think I have thought about going back to change it? The difference between us is that I know what's at stake. Saving Henrik would have brought more problems even if I really do want him back." With those words, she whirled around, stalking off towards her room. Her hands were shaking at the thought of how close she had been to Henrik. She could have stayed with him, been happy. It wasn't like anyone would miss her. In her room, Tyra fell onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

A knock on the door stopped her from attempting to suffocate herself "Come in," she called reluctantly, curling into a ball under the covers.

"Tyra," the Doctor murmured, closing the door behind him "Can we talk?"

She shrugged, wiping at her eyes "Why? Did Rose come and whine that I shouted at her?"

"You shouted at Rose?" he blinked "Why?"

"Nothing," Tyra whispered "It's nothing. I'm fine. We don't have to talk and you can go."

The Doctor came a little closer, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her "What happened? You've been… lost in thoughts since Rose asked about her father." When she didn't say anything and kept her back to him, he sighed "Please. You were the one to say that talking helped. I want to help you."

She whirled to face him "You can't help me, okay? No one can. Not you, not my brothers and certainly not your stupid ship." The Doctor reared back in surprise, not having expected the outburst from her. Black veins had crawled up underneath her eyes and her eyes had turned into a blood red. It was over as quickly as it began, her eyes returning to normal "Sorry. I didn't… I…"

"It's alright," the Doctor whispered, longing to reach out for her but he knew that she would most likely fight him "What was so different today?"

Tyra licked her lips, picking at a loose thread in the blanket "Do you know how my family turned into vampires?"

"I have a few books but they seem to leave out the why and the how," he shook his head.

"Rose isn't the only one who lost someone," Tyra told him quietly, unsure of whether this conversation was a good idea. She didn't want his pity but – He had to know, right? He lost his entire family. He just had to know how she felt. Maybe he really could help… "My twin brother… He died over a thousand years ago and…"

"And seeing Rose with her father brought back memories," the Doctor finished for her "How did he die?"

Tyra's eyes focussed on the wall, her mind replaying the scene she had witnessed all those years ago "He snuck out at night. We were all hiding from the wolves… Werewolves and he snuck out with Nik." A tear fell from her eyes "I followed them and then… I heard a scream. The wolves ripped him apart and Nik – he couldn't do anything. There were too many but… They left him alone. I never understood until later."

The Doctor looked at her with understanding in his eyes and pulled her into an embrace. She stiffened for a moment, ready to pull away before she sighed and relaxed in his hold "Do your siblings know that you saw?"

"No," she whispered "I never told them. But it hurt so much, Doctor. It was like something inside me snapped. And when mother turned us into… into this."

"Hold on," he froze "It was your mother who turned you into vampires? Because your brother died?"

She looked up at him in confusion "I thought you had books?"

"They weren't very clear on the details," he huffed, annoyed at the books. Maybe he should show them to Tyra. She could be aware of who wrote them. They were old and handwritten after all "But wait. I thought you had to die to become a vampire? At least your kind of vampire does."

"Yes."

"Your mother killed you?" the Doctor demanded, fury in his voice. He relaxed a bit when Tyra shook his head but tensed when her next words registered.

"It wasn't mother," Tyra told him "It was my father."


	9. The Empty Child

_Flashback_

_The Doctor was staring at Tyra silently, trying to process what she had just told him. His mind was going a mile a minute, trying to work out exactly what that meant. No wonder she didn't trust people easily._

"_Doctor?" Tyra spoke up hesitatingly when the staring got uncomfortable. She reached out to touch his arm "Doctor!"_

_Just before her fingers made contact, he jumped up "What did you say?" he demanded, just having to hear it again._

_Tyra bit her lip "My mother didn't kill us. Our father ran my siblings and me through with a sword."_

"_Those bastards," the Doctor hissed, pacing aggressively "How could anyone do that to their own children?"_

"_Ask them," Tyra murmured back with a shrug. She looked at the Doctor muttering to himself. He looked very much read to find her parents and kill them. Again in her mother's case "Why are you so angry?"_

_He stopped, whirling around to face her "One because you're my friend. And I don't like knowing that my friends have gone through something like that. Two…" He hesitated for a moment, debating on whether to tell her. Then again, she had confided in him. Why shouldn't he do her the same courtesy? "I had children once. Before the War… I would never do anything to harm them, no matter whether I wanted to help. Harm is harm. Yes, you woke up – as a vampire – but they still killed you."_

_Tyra blinked in surprise "You lost your family? Not just your parents but your whole family? I'm sorry."_

"_It's done," he whispered roughly, blinking back the tears._

_Tyra sighed and got up. She studied the man in front of her for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his middle "They'll always be with you, Doctor. I know that's a small consolation but… Eventually, it will stop hurting less. I'm sure you know that already."_

"_Thank you," he murmured, ducking his face to bury into her hair. After a minute or two of comfortable silence, he pulled back "So… I was wondering. Will you take a look at the books? See if you can find out who wrote them?"_

_Tyra shrugged "Sure. Library?"_

_The Doctor shook his head "My room. I was rereading them, trying to find out some more about you."_

"_Lead the way, then," Tyra gestured._

"_Here it is," the Doctor gestured, procuring a huge volume from somewhere. He held it out to Tyra who was looking around his room curiously._

"_Why orange?" she questioned "Seems like a… bold choice for a guy who prefers wearing dark clothes."_

_The Doctor's smile dropped "It reminds me of home. Gallifrey… The sky was burnt orange."_

"_It sounds beautiful," Tyra told him, accepting the book "So what am I looking for? Wait 'The Great Collection of Vampires and their Subspecies'?" Her eyes widened "You said something about my kind of vampire before. There are more?"_

"_All in the book," the Doctor waved, leaning over her to flip through the pages "Here. That's the chapter about your family."_

_Tyra stared at him incredulously, trying to understand the implication. Of course, it was stupid of her to think that they were the only vampires in existence but still. She lowered her eyes to the page and let out a breath at the handwriting "What the hell?"_

"_What?"_

"_I think I know why there aren't as many information in there," she breathed, running a hand over the letters._

_The Doctor made a face "Why?"_

"_Because that's my handwriting," Tyra pointed out, slightly confused "What's a little uncomfortable is that I haven't written it yet. At least I don't remember doing so."_

"_Oh," the Doctor nodded "That's… Interesting."_

_Tyra huffed "That's a mild word for it… Hey, do you mind if I read this?"_

"_Sure," the Doctor shrugged before gesturing to his bed "But I still have a few questions if you don't mind."_

"_If you can keep your cool, I'm fine with it," Tyra teased, curling up at the headboard._

_End Flashback_

"What's the emergency?" Rose called over the noise of the Tardis.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder when Tyra entered the console room. He had stayed with her the night before, talking some more about both of their experiences "It's mauve," he told Rose.

"Mauve?" Tyra frowned, jumping down the stairs. The Tardis was shaking like crazy but Tyra didn't mind it much. While the shaking was bad, it wasn't as harsh as it was before.

"The universally recognised colour for danger," the Doctor sighed, resigning himself to having to explain things.

Rose blinked in confusion "What happened to red?"

The Doctor ran around the console "That's just humans." He stopped by the scanner "By everyone else's standards red is camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing." He read the symbols on the monitor "It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the Tardis. Where it goes, we go."

"And that's safe, is it?" Rose questioned, crossing her arms.

"Totally," the Doctor nodded happily, correcting himself when the console exploded in front of him "Okay, reasonably. Should have said reasonably there. No, no, no, no. It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us."

Tyra stepped closer to him, glancing over his shoulder at the thing that they were following "What is that?"

"No idea," he shrugged, urging the Tardis to go faster.

"Then… why are we chasing it?" Rose questioned.

"It's mauve," the Doctor explained "And dangerous. And about thirty seconds from the city centre of London."

Tyra tilted her head "That's bad, right?"

"Very bad," the Doctor nodded his head, walking past Tyra out of the Tardis' door "Do you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?"

Rose grinned and attached herself to the Doctor's arm "Five days? Or is that just when we're out of milk?"

The Doctor groaned "Out of all the species in all the Universe and it has to come out of a cow," he complained jokingly.

"Oh, the horror," Tyra gasped.

He snorted and glanced around the back alley they had landed in. Speaking of which, if he was right it looked like the 1940s. Maybe 1941… "Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"A month?" Rose exclaimed "We were right behind it."

"It was jumping time tracks," the Doctor gestured, still looking around "We're bound to be a little bit out. Do you want to drive?"

Rose nodded "Yeah. How much is a little?"

"A bit."

"Is that exactly a bit?"

The Doctor grimaced "Ish."

Rose rolled her eyes at the Doctor "What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?"

"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a loud bang. I'm going to ask." He showed them his psychic paper. Tyra squinted at it, hoping to see what it was supposed to show but she gave up after a moment.

"Doctor John Smith," Rose read out loud "Ministry of Asteroids."

The Doctor looked down "It's psychic paper. It tells you…"

"Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember," Rose finished the sentence for him.

"Sorry. Door, music, people," the Doctor pointed to a door "What do you think?"

Tyra gaped playfully "Who are you and what have you done with the Doctor? You're doing the domestic approach?"

"Shush, Tyra," the Doctor hushed her with a small grin, pushing her towards the door gently.

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech," Rose pointed out "Give me some Spock for once. Would it kill you?"

The Doctor opened the door with his sonic and looked back at her, specifically at Rose's Union Flag shirt. Then he glanced down at Tyra and the dress she was wearing "Are you sure about that t-shirt? Or the dress?"

Rose glanced down "Too early to say," she shrugged "I'm taking it out for a spin."

"Eh, the dress isn't that bad," Tyra shrugged "I think I can handle the looks. And I'm wearing a jacket anyway." She had found – or rather the Tardis found her – a black trench coat that reached the middle of her thigh, just a little lower than the short white dress.

"_Mummy? Mummy?_" a child's voice called out from somewhere. Tyra stopped with a frown, looking around in confusion. Where was that voice coming from?

"Come on if you're coming," the Doctor called over his shoulder, noting that neither of the girls had made to follow him. He shrugged and added "It won't take a minute."

Rose looked over at Tyra when she stepped up next to her "Did you hear that?"

"Yup," Tyra nodded, glancing around. The voice seemed to come from somewhere higher up. She narrowed her eyes on the rooftops, seeing a small figure looking down at them "It's a kid."

"Doctor," Rose called out, hoping at he was still in hearing distance "Doctor? There's a kid up there." The Doctor didn't hear her, the door just falling closed behind him, so Rose ran over to the building the kid was on "Are you alright up there?" She started climbing up.

Tyra was watching her from where she was standing close to the Tardis. She really didn't feel like trying to help a creepy kid on some random building. Especially since something was wrong with it. This wasn't a normal child… He didn't have a heartbeat for one.

Rose got to the flat roof just beneath the child. She looked for a way further up before spotting a rope dangling in front of her. Tyra snorted, debating on whether to call out to Rose. Why she thought it was a good idea, she didn't know. Didn't Rose see the barrage balloon that was attached to it? "Rose," she finally called, unsure of whether the other girl could hear her. At that moment, the barrage balloon started drifting off with the blonde clutching to it.

"Doctor," Rose screamed "Doctor."

"Hold on," Tyra shouted up to her, raising her voice as much as she could "Don't let go."

Rose glared down "What kind of advice is that?" she demanded loudly.

Tyra rolled her eyes and hurried after her. She walked through most of London Town, keeping her eyes on Rose. She was way too obvious… Especially with the shirt, she was wearing. Well, at least it wasn't Tyra dangling a couple hundred feet above London. Thank God for small mercies.

"Well, well, well," a voice behind Tyra made her freeze "Who would have thought that I'd run into you here?"

She cursed under her breath and whirled around "What do you want?"

Niklaus raised his eyebrow in amusement, his focus on his little sister. The little sister he had been searching for several decades already "Did you think I wouldn't find you, love?" He glanced down at her clothes in surprise and a hint of disapproval "What are you wearing? You run away from us and now you dress like a prostitute?"

"Really?" Tyra groaned "I'm sure you've seen Rebekah wear worse stuff than this dress. In fact, I'm sure I have…"

"But Bekah isn't my baby sister," Klaus pointed out.

Tyra raised her eyebrow "Do you really want me to tell you that you're wrong? Because you are."

Klaus rolled his eyes fondly. He had missed her. It was different knowing she was gone, not just daggered "Come on. You're coming with me. You stayed away long enough. It's time to come back home."

"No thanks," Tyra shook her head, taking a few steps away "I don't really feel like another dagger in my heart."

"I'm not going to dagger you," Klaus sighed.

"Oh, just fuck off," Tyra grimaced "I have nothing to say to you or Elijah if he's still hanging around. If this is about what happened in New Orleans… Wait…" She blinked as his words swam into her mind. She vaguely remembered what Niklaus had been ranting about before he daggered her… "Did you ask me about the Doctor before?"

Klaus' eyes widened. Doctor? "You know him."

"Tall guy with a northern accent. Short hair, very – very blue eyes?"

He relaxed "Then it's not the same guy. The one I'm talking about is a ball of hyper pinstripes. Brown hair, brown eyes. Weird. Likes to lick things if you're to be believed."

Licking thing? That sounded weirdly gross "But he called himself Doctor?" Tyra inquired in confusion. How was this her life? She was confused and she didn't like it. At all.

"Yes," Klaus nodded, equally confused. He had thought that he would finally understand what Kol had been on about but… Apparently not. Maybe there was more than one man calling himself 'the Doctor'? But that was just as ridiculous. His head was starting to hurt just thinking about what that would imply. Klaus shook his head "There was someone with you."

Tyra narrowed her eyes "What do you want from me, Nik? I'm not coming with you. There was actually something I had to do before you stopped me. If you'll excuse me? I have to find Rose before she manages to fall to her death."

The name of the blonde brat caused Klaus to stiffen again which gave Tyra just enough time to leave "Dammit," he hissed under his breath, turning quickly when he heard footsteps approaching from behind "Elijah."

"Where did you go?" Elijah questioned, hiding his curious look behind his mask of indifference. He had been wearing that particular mask around Niklaus more and more often now. After everything that happened and them being the only two left, he was starting to question whether or not it was worth it. Helping Niklaus made him lose his siblings – Sure, they were still alive but that didn't mean that he liked it anymore than seeing them dead.

"I thought I saw something," Klaus murmured before shaking his head "Let's go."

* * *

The Doctor was scanning the area with binoculars. Nancy nodded towards the fenced-off area "The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up overnight. See that building? The hospital."

"What about it?" the Doctor asked.

"That's where the Doctor is," Nancy explained "You should talk to him."

The Doctor shook his head "For now, I'm more interested in getting in there."

"Talk to the doctor first," Nancy insisted.

"It seems that great minds do indeed think alike," a voice called out from behind the two of them.

The Doctor whirled around "Tyra. Where the hell have you been? I told you not to wander off."

"I had to make sure that Rose was alright. She might or might not have been carried off by a barrage balloon while trying to help a very creepy child."

"You saw him too, then?"

Tyra nodded "I take it that it's why you're here?"

"Who are you?" Nancy asked, looking from the Doctor to the girl and back.

"Oh, sorry," the Doctor spoke up "That's Tyra. She travels with me."

Nancy smiled a little and nodded to the girl "Nancy."

"Nice to meet you," Tyra waved.

"How did you know where I was?" the Doctor frowned, realising that she had no way of knowing.

Tyra shrugged sheepishly "I overheard some soldiers. They were saying the bomb thing came down here and I wanted to check it out."

"'Overheard'?"

"They were drunk," Tyra explained "I didn't do anything but overhear them."

The Doctor looked at her doubtfully "Alright, then."

"So… Anyway," Tyra spoke up "Who is the doctor and why would we need to look for him?"

Nancy huffed, crossing her arms "Because then maybe you won't want to get inside." She turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"There was a lot of food in that house," Nancy replied "I've got mouths to feed. Should be safe enough now."

The Doctor studied her closely "Can I ask you a question?" When Nancy nodded, he continued "Who did you lose?"

"What?"

"The way you look after all those kids," the Doctor told her softly "It's because you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it."

Nancy lowered her head, biting her lip "My little brother." Her heart skipped a beat, making Tyra narrow her eyes "Jamie. One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, I told him it was dangerous but he just… He just didn't like being on his own."

"What happened?" the Doctor breathed.

"In the middle of an air raid?" Nancy shot back sarcastically "What do you think happened?"

The Doctor shook his head, a small smile on his face "Amazing."

"What is?" Nancy blinked, looking a little insulted that he thought her brother's death was amazing.

"1941," the Doctor gestured "Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says no. No. Not here. A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing, the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go then. Do what you've got to do… Save the world." He grabbed Tyra's hand, tugging at her to follow him down to the hospital.

Tyra glanced over her shoulder to see Nancy leaving "You do know that she was lying, right?"

"What?"

"About her brother," she explained "Not that he died. It is obvious that she lost someone who was close to her."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "Then what are you saying?"

"I'm… unsure," Tyra murmured "Her heart blipped on the word brother. As if Jamie wasn't her brother. I don't know."

"Hm," the Doctor hummed "And you're sure?"

Tyra shrugged "I guess so. I don't know why she would be lying though." She paused for a moment before stopping "Hey, I have a question."

"Shoot," he said, looking down at her curiously.

"I ran into one of my brothers. He asked me about you," she explained "But when I described you, he said that you're not the guy he means."

The Doctor stiffened for a moment "We'll talk about it later, alright?"

"Okay," Tyra murmured reluctantly "I'm holding you to it."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled back "Now… Where to go…?"

Tyra rolled her eyes "I would suggest trying the gate that has a huge sign saying 'Entrance' above it."

"Smartass," the Doctor grumbled but made to walk the short way to the hospital. He used his sonic to open the padlock on the ornate metal gate. Inside, there was a long, dark ward with every bed occupied "Can you hear their heartbeats?"

Tyra swallowed at the sight of the still people. They were all wearing gasmasks "No," she breathed "There are only four hearts beating in this whole ward and probably the floors above and below us. Mine, your two and… That guy's." She pointed to the elderly man who leaned on a walking stick.

"You'll find them everywhere. In every bed, in every ward. Hundreds of them."

The Doctor nodded "Yes, we saw. Why are they still wearing gasmasks?"

"They're not. Who are you two?"

"I'm – er…" the Doctor broke off "Are you the Doctor?"

"Doctor Constantine," the old man introduced himself "And you are?"

The Doctor shook his head "Nancy sent us."

"Nancy?" Constantine raised his eyebrows "That means you must have been asking about the bomb."

"Yes."

Doctor Constantine hummed "What do you know about it?"

"Nothing," the Doctor shrugged easily "That's why I was asking. What do you know?"

"Only what it's done," Constantine sighed tiredly.

"There people," the Doctor murmured "They were all caught up in the blast?"

Constantine chuckled, coughing harshly "None of them were," he pointed out, falling back into the chair where the ward sister would normally sit.

Tyra tilted her head, listening to his erratic heartbeat "You're sick."

"Dying, I should think," he smiled wryly "I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?"

"I have my moments," the Doctor muttered, studying one of the patients attentively.

Constantine noticed his distraction "Have you examined any of them yet?"

"No."

"Don't touch the flesh," Doctor Constantine warned.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder, his sonic at the ready "Which one?"

"Any one." The Doctor scanned the nearest patient, looking at the results "Conclusion?"

The Doctor inhaled sharply when at least ten possible causes for their death appeared "Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gasmask seems to be fused to the flesh but I can't see any burns."

"Examine another," Constantine called out, looking at the scar on the back of his hand.

Tyra watched the Doctor nervously, shifting from foot to foot. There was something not right in here and she didn't like it. It was too quiet.

"This isn't possible," the Doctor exclaimed "They've all got the same injuries. How did this happen? How did it start?"

Constantine stretched lightly "When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim."

"Dead?"

"At first…"

Tyra gasped "Doctor. That child. The little boy… I think he was the victim. Would explain why he feels similar to the people in here."

"You're good," Doctor Constantine smiled "His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning every doctor and every nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma."

"No."

"Asphyxiation."

"No."

"The collapse of the chest cavity."

"No."

"Alright," the Doctor muttered in annoyance and surprise "What was the cause of death?"

Constantine smile enigmatically "There wasn't one. They're not dead." He hit a wastebasket with his stick and the noise made the patients sit up in their beds.

"What?" Tyra blinked, taking a step back "How? They don't have a heartbeat. How can they be alive?"

"I don't know," Constantine shrugged "But it's alright. They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, like you said, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die."

"And they've just been left there," the Doctor glowered angrily "Nobody's doing anything?"

Constantine closed his eyes for a moment, slumping back on his chair "I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?"

Tyra whirled around and took a step closer to the door "Doctor… I heard something. I'll go and check it out."

"Be careful, Tyra."

"I always am," she grinned, hurrying down the hallways and to where she heard Rose talking to a man. She leaned against the wall with a small smirk "Haven't you learned not to drag along strays, Rose."

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man introduced himself with a small, exaggerated bow "And who are you?"

Tyra snorted in amusement, shaking her head "Dream on, pretty boy."

"Tyra?" the Doctor called from the ward he was still in.

Tyra turned, leading the two newcomers to where he was, slipping past them into the room. She flinched slightly when her gaze caught Doctor Constantine slumped on the chair he sat in, a gasmask on his face.

"Good evening," Captain Harkness greeted the Doctor "Hope we're not intruding. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

"He knows," Rose sighed in fake apology "I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock," Jack grinned, walking into the ward "So, you never did tell me your name."

Tyra looked at him for a moment "Tyra Mikaelson."

"Nice to meet you, Tyra Mikaelson," he flirted.

Tyra stiffened at the look in his eyes. He reminded her so much of Kol when he started flirting with random people. Damn, Niklaus… Seeing her older brother earlier had dragged memories to the forefront of her mind that she had successfully pushed back. She wished that she could have helped Kol… could help Kol. She just wished that he had believed her about the rest of their siblings. Tyra had told him that they would only dagger both of them again whenever they felt like it but Kol was convinced. For a while, at least. Klaus promised that they would be safe, that he wouldn't dagger them anymore. He promised that they would be a family again. That Mikael wouldn't find them in New Orleans… Since they didn't undagger Finn, Tyra didn't take any chances and just ran.

A hand touched her shoulder lightly, startling her out of her thoughts "You alright?" the Doctor asked. Tyra nodded, earning herself a small smile and squeeze from the Doctor before he turned to the Captain angrily "What kind of Chula ship landed here?"

"What?"

Rose stepped closer "He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?" the Doctor questioned again.

"Does it matter?" Jack exclaimed defensively "It's got nothing to do with me."

Tyra scoffed "The man doth protest too much, methinks."

The Doctor turned to her "Shakespeare, really?"

"What can I say?" Tyra shrugged.

"Right," the Doctor drawled before shaking his head, narrowing his eyes on Jack "This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it. What. Kind. Of. Warship?"

"An ambulance," he cried out, pressing a few buttons on his wrist strap "Look." A hologram appeared above it "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you into thinking it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle – love the retro look, by the way, nice panels – threw you the bait…"

"Bait?" Rose raised her eyebrow.

Tyra rolled her eyes "You're a conman? Why am I not surprised?"

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk," Jack gestured.

"You said it was a warship," Rose pointed out in confusion.

Captain Jack sighed in annoyance "They have ambulances in wars. It was a con. I was conning you. That's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you guys were Time Agents. You're not, are you?"

Rose shook her head "Just a couple more freelancers."

"Oh," Jack huffed "Should have known. The way you guys are blending in with the local colour. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough but U-Boat Captain and prostitute? Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."

Tyra glared at the man dangerously, barely keeping her anger under control "What did you just call me?"

"Tyra, enough," the Doctor mumbled, tugging at her hand.

"What is happening here, Doctor?" Rose questioned, looking at the patients weirdly.

The Doctor looked over at Rose "Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his short hair "Some kind of virus converting human being into these things. But why? What's the point?"

Suddenly, all patients sat up, chanting "_Mummy. Mummy. Mummy? Mummy?_"

"What's happening?" Rose cried in fear, stumbling back.

"I don't know." The Doctor pulled both girls back, closer to the wall "Don't let them touch you."

Rose tilted her head "What happens if they touch us?"

"You're looking at it," Tyra mumbled, her eyes trained on the advancing people.

The patients were closing in on the group of four, caging them against the wall "_Mummy. Help me, mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy._"


	10. The Doctor Dances

**I'm sorry this took so long. I barely had any time to finish this. I'll try to write more and for other stories too. There are a few chapters I started on that are waiting to be completed, so for the ones reading my other stories. There might yet be hope. **

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

The patients were continuing to close in on them until the Doctor straightened, putting on an angry face "Go to your room," he barked sternly. Tyra blinked at him and snorted when the patients actually froze "Go to your room. I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go to your room." The gasmask zombies hung their heads in shames and shuffled away. The Doctor's shoulders slumped in relief "I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words."

Tyra shook out her head "I can't believe that actually worked."

"Why are they all wearing gasmasks?" Rose questioned, stumbling forward to look at the still patients.

"They're not," Jack stated grimly "Those masks are flesh and bone."

The Doctor glared at him "How was your con supposed to work?"

"Simple enough," Jack shrugged "Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put fifty percent upfront, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his money and we discuss dumb luck."

Tyra looked at him with a hint of approval "Self-cleaning con. I'm impressed."

"Tyra," the Doctor warned "No complimenting idiots."

"Hey," Jack huffed "The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii is nice if you want to make a vacation of it though but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day." He stopped when he saw the Doctor's glare "Getting a hint of disapproval."

Tyra looked over at the Doctor, her eyes lit up mischievously "Hey, what do you want to bet that we're going to end up in Pompeii on volcano day? With your luck, it wouldn't surprise me at all."

The Doctor hummed "How about you think of something and tell me if I lose."

"When you lose, you mean," Tyra laughed "Alright. Deal. Same goes to you."

Rose raised her eyebrows "Are you two done now?"

The Doctor nodded sheepishly "Where was I? Oh, right…" He turned to Jack, gesturing to their surroundings "Look around. This is what your harmless piece of space junk did."

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty," Jack argued. This wasn't his fault, even if he had to prove it to the man.

The Doctor just shook his head and turned to walk out of the room. Rose followed him immediately, while Tyra stayed back to raise an eyebrow at the Captain "I might not be the best person to tell someone else off but if it turns out that you were at fault, I'll definitely be owing you an 'I told you so'."

Jack snorted "I programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no one. I don't know what's happening here but believe me, I had nothing to do with it."

"I'll tell you what's happening," the Doctor hissed "You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day."

A siren sounded from outside, causing Tyra to flinch from the noisiness. Rose glanced around "What's that?"

"The all clear," Jack replied.

The Doctor snorted "I wish." He grabbed Tyra's hand and dragged her along, away from the idiot. They walked out of the corridor and up the stairs. From the upstairs corridor, Tyra could hear Rose and Jack calling after the Doctor while they ran past. The Doctor rolled his eyes and leaned over the railing "Have you got a blaster?"

"Sure," Jack exclaimed, backtracking to run up to join the other two outside a secure metal door.

"The night your space junk landed, someone was hurt," the Doctor explained "This was where they were taken."

Rose blinked "What happened?"

"Let's find out," the Doctor gestured "Get it open."

Rose stepped up to the Doctor and leaned closer to whisper into his ear "What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?"

The Doctor grinned and shrugged at Rose before stepping closer to the now lock-free door "Sonic blaster, fifty-first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?"

"You've been to the factories?" Jack questioned in surprise.

"Once," the Doctor nodded.

Jack sighed sadly "Well, they're gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot."

The Doctor grinned "Like I said. Once. There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good."

"You like bananas?" Tyra questioned with a small shudder "Never liked them. Or pears. They are disgusting."

"You're right… Pears are disgusting," the Doctor agreed "But bananas? How can you hate bananas?"

Tyra held up her hands in surrender "Sorry?"

"I will convert you yet," the Doctor proclaimed grandly, stalking into the open room. There were filing cabinets, electronic equipment and a big mess in general "What do you think?"

Jack looked around curiously "Something got out of here."

"Yea," the Doctor nodded "And?"

"Something powerful. Angry."

The Doctor trailed his hand across some of the crayon drawings "Powerful and angry," he murmured.

"A child?" Jack gasped "I suppose this explains Mummy."

Rose frowned "How could a child do this?"

"Kids can do a lot of harm. Whether knowingly or unconsciously," Tyra pointed out quietly, looking at the pictures. She recognized the figure featured in most of the drawings. Nancy. So the child really was her brother – or whoever he was to her.

The Doctor turned on a tape machine and two voices started filling the room "_Do you know where you ar_e?_" _Doctor Constantine asked.

"_Are you my mummy?_"

"_Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?_" Constantine asked the child.

"_Are you my mummy?_" Jamie repeated.

"_What do you want? Do you know…_" Constantine was cut off.

"_I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?_"

"Doctor, I've heard the voice before," Rose said.

"Me too," he replied grimly.

"_Mummy?_" the child repeated again.

"Always are you my mummy… like he doesn't know," Rose muttered.

Tyra looked around in confusion. A feeling had washed over her. The same thing she had felt earlier when Rose had gone after the child.

"_Mummy?_"

"Why doesn't he know?" Rose asked.

"_Are you there, mummy? Mummy? Mummy? Please, mummy? Mummy?_"

"Can you sense it?" Tyra asked as the feeling intensified. The Doctor looked at her in surprise, while the other two stared in confusion.

"Sense what?" Jack asked, coming to stand next to the girl. Tyra glanced at him and shifted away, causing a frown to fall over the Captain's face.

The Doctor sighed impatiently "Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?"

Rose rolled her eyes "When he's stressed, he likes to insult species."

"Rose, I'm thinking," the Doctor chided.

Rose didn't care though, just continued babbling on "He cuts himself shaving, he does half an hour on life forms he's cleverer than."

"There are these children living rough round the bomb sites," the Doctor muttered "They come out during air-raids looking for food."

"_Mummy, please?_" Jamie's voice sounded again from the tape.

The Doctor continued "Suppose they were there when this thing, whatever it was, landed?"

"It was a med ship," Jack exclaimed in annoyance "It was harmless."

"Yes," the Doctor rolled his eyes "You keep saying harmless. Suppose one of them was affected, altered?"

Rose looked at him in confusion "Altered how?"

Tyra looked around at the tape recorder when she heard the tell-tale clicking of it having run out but startled when Jamie spoke again "_I'm here._"

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful," the Doctor explained "It doesn't know it yet but it will do. It's got the power of a god and I just sent it to its room."

"Doctor," Tyra spoke up, staring at the child in the doorway "Maybe we should just go."

"_I'm here now. Can't you see me?_" Jamie questioned.

The Doctor looked at the three in the room with him, a sheepish expression on his face "I sent it to its room… This is his room." He turned around and looked at the boy in the gasmask.

Jamie tilted his head "_Are you my mummy? Mummy?_"

Rose glanced at the Doctor, panicking "Doctor?"

"Okay, on my signal make for the door," Jack hissed, positioning himself in front of the others. He reached into his pocket "Now!" Jack aimed what should have been his blaster at the child… Well, it wasn't the blaster.

The Doctor pulled Jack's blaster from his belt and made a nice square hole in the wall "Go now! Don't drop the banana."

"Why not?!" Jack demanded in annoyance.

"Good source of potassium," the Doctor shrugged.

Jack stormed past him, snatching his blaster back "Give me that." He whirled around, repairing the hole in the wall "Digital rewind. Nice switch."

"It's from the groves of Villengard," the Doctor proclaimed, stuffing the banana into his pocket again "I thought it was appropriate."

"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor just shrugged "Bananas are good." He then stopped, jabbing his finger into Tyra's chest "I will prove it to you. One way or another you will see it my way."

Suddenly, the wall started to crack, causing Rose to jump closer to the Doctor in alarm "Doctor!"

"Come on." They didn't get far at all since patients were coming at them from both sides, trapping the group in the corridor with no way out "It's keeping us here till it can get at us."

Jack aimed his blaster in both directions, not knowing what to do "It's controlling them?"

The Doctor shook his head "It is them. It's every living thing in this hospital."

"Okay," Jack shrugged. It wasn't the weirdest situation he had been in. He held up his gun again "This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon and as a triple-enforced sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?"

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably "I've got a sonic – er – Oh, never mind."

"What?"

"It's sonic, okay?" the Doctor exclaimed "Totally sonic. I am sonicked up."

Tyra started laughing when Jack turned to the other man in annoyance, the patients forgotten for the moment "A sonic what?"

"Screwdriver," Tyra replied at the same time as Rose grabbed Jack's wrist, pointing the blaster at the floor.

"Going down," she warned, causing all of them to tumble through the floor and onto the ground below.

Jack quickly repaired the hole in the ceiling and held out his hand for Tyra to take "Thanks," she murmured quietly, letting him pull her up.

Rose looked over at the Doctor "Doctor, are you okay?"

The Doctor dusted himself off "Could've used a warning," he grumbled.

"Oh, the gratitude," Rose rolled her eyes.

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack demanded.

Tyra patted the Doctor's shoulder when he crossed his arms with a huff "I do."

Jack frowned "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks – ooh – this could be a little more sonic?"

"What, you've never been bored?" the Doctor asked "Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?"

At the same time as Rose found a light switch, the patients sat up in their beds "_Mummy. Mummy._"

"Door," Jack called, rushing towards it.

Tyra followed him, trying to stay away from the hands that were reaching out for them. If that was what happened to normal humans, she really didn't want to know what it would do to her… Or vampires in general.

In front of her, Jack was trying to use his blaster to get through the door but nothing happened "Damn it. It's the special features," he grumbled "They really drain the battery."

"Battery?" Rose asked, her voice as flat and unimpressed as she could manage. Tyra pushed Jack out of the way and pulled out one of the clips she had in her hair "That's so lame."

A moment later, the lock clicked and the door swung open quietly. Tyra sighted, jumping back to her feet "You're welcome."

"I was going to send for another but somebody's got to blow up the factories," Jack complained, glaring at the Doctor.

Tyra groaned in annoyance, swinging up to sit on a table that was by the only window in the room. That guy just didn't know when to drop it, did he?

Rose nodded at Jack's words "Oh, I know. First day I met him, he blew up my job. That's practically how he communicates."

The Doctor sighed, ignoring their chatter "Okay, that door should hold it for a bit."

"The door?" Jack exclaimed incredulously "The wall didn't hold it."

"Well, it's got to find us first," the Doctor pointed out "Come on, we're not done yet. Assets, assets."

Jack shot him a look "Well, you've got a banana and in a pinch, you could put up some shelves."

"Window," the Doctor said.

"Barred. Sheer drop outside. Seven stories," Jack shook his head, looking at the wrist strap around his arm.

Rose sighed "And no other exits."

"The assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?" Jack commented sarcastically.

Tyra glared at him "How about you shut up? After all, you're not exactly innocent in this."

"Oh?" Jack huffed "And who are you to blame me?"

"Tyra, Jack," the Doctor rolled his eyes and turned to Rose "So, where'd you pick up this one, then?"

"Doctor," Rose scolded, sitting down in a wheelchair.

Jack smirked at the Doctor "She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance."

The Doctor's head snapped to Tyra "Wait, you actually saw her hanging from a barrage balloon?"

"I did tell you that, didn't I?" Tyra frowned.

"You could have helped."

Tyra narrowed her eyes "I tried. But then I ran into Nik… And well, it was a weird conversation. Bit distracting really."

"Right, your…" the Doctor cut himself off, glancing over at Rose "One, we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?"

Rose cleared her throat, her eyes narrowing. She felt like Tyra and the Doctor were keeping a secret from her… "Yeah. Jack just disappeared." Tyra looked up to see that she was right "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?"

"I'm making an effort not to be insulted," the Doctor mumbled.

Rose looked up and gestured at him "I mean, men."

"I don't think you're helping your case there, Rosie," Tyra snorted.

Suddenly, the radio crackled to life "_Rose? Tyra? Doctor? Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship. Used the emergency teleport. Sorry, couLdn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there._"

The Doctor grabbed the radio, holding up the disconnected power cord in bemusement "How are you speaking to us?"

"Om-Com," Jack pointed out "I can call anything with a speaker grill."

"Now there's a coincidence," the Doctor sighed "The child can Om-Com too."

Rose blinked in surprise "He can?"

"Anything with a speaker grill," he nodded "Even the Tardis phone."

"What, you mean the child can phone us?" Rose inquired, her brow furrowed.

"_And I can hear you. Coming to find you. Coming to find you._" Tyra sat up in surprise at the change in voice coming from the radio.

Just after that, Jack's voice was back "_Doctor, can you hear that?_"

"Loud and clear," the Doctor responded.

Jack nodded to himself from his spaceship "_I'll try to block out the signal. Least I can do._" There was a bit of a scuffle over the radio between Jack and Jamie before Jack smirked "_Remember this one, Rose?_"

Moonlight Serenade came on, causing Rose to smile "Our song."

"'Your song'?" Tyra mimicked "Moving a bit fast there, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Rose huffed. She was getting a bit annoyed at Tyra. The other girl had been acting less than friendly since everything with her father happened. A little while later, Rose was back to relaxing in the wheelchair while the Doctor was standing on the table just behind Tyra, sonicking the barred window "What are you doing?"

"Trying to set up a pattern in the concrete, loosen the bars," the Doctor explained, not looking away from the window.

Rose raised an eyebrow "You don't think he's coming back, do you?"

"Wouldn't bet my life," the Doctor grunted.

Tyra hummed. If Jack did come back that would just prove that Jack wasn't too dissimilar from Kol. While her brother loved to pretend, he wasn't heartless. None of her siblings were. Sure, they all had their moments but after a thousand year, lines blurred sometimes. Caring about people you're going to outlive hurt and after a while, you just… stop. How the Doctor managed it time and time again, Tyra didn't know but in her eyes he was remarkable.

Rose tilted her head "Why don't you trust him?"

"Why do you?" the Doctor challenged.

"He saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like you. Except for dating and dancing…" Rose stopped when she noticed his look "What?"

The Doctor gestured, trying to figure out what to say "You just assume I'm…"

"What?"

"You just assume that I don't dance," he muttered.

Rose blinked in surprise "What, are you telling me you do dance?"

Tyra looked at her incredulously "Rose, he's nine-hundred-years-old. At least. I think you can safely assume that he dance at one point or another." She sent a teasing grin to the man behind her "Although I don't imagine you being very good. Sorry."

"Can you dance?" the Doctor asked, not sounding insulted in the slightest. She was probably right anyway. Out of all the bodies he had, only a rare few were able to dance without looking like a fool.

"Ballroom?" Tyra tilted her head "Yeah."

Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise "Why did you learn that?"

Tyra raised a shoulder in a small shrug, looking back out of the barred window "Obligation."

"What?"

"Never mind," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Well," the Doctor cut in "I've got the moves but I wouldn't want to boast."

Rose walked over to turn up the volume of the radio that was still playing Moonlight Serenade "You've got the moves? Show me your moves."

"Rose," the Doctor sighed "I'm trying to resonate concrete."

"Jack will be back," Rose waved off "He'll get us out. So come on. The world doesn't end just because the Doctor dances." She held out her hands and the Doctor studied her palms.

He squinted and jumped from the table "Barrage balloon? You were hanging from a barrage balloon."

"Oh, yeah. About two minutes after you left," Rose grinned "Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air-raid. Union Jack all over my chest. I could have died."

"I've travelled with a lot of people but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly."

Rose rolled her eyes "Is this you dancing? Because I've got notes."

Tyra flailed her arms, hitting her head on some metal wall when the table beneath her disappeared. The Doctor and Rose hadn't noticed the change in location, too caught up in each other. Tyra couldn't help but glare at Jack for not warning them at least. The man raised a finger to his lips, signalling the girl to be silent.

"Oh?" the Doctor muttered "We're calling him Captain Jack now, are we?"

Rose shrugged "Well, his name is Jack and he's a Captain."

Jack chuckled under his breath, watching their interaction closely "You're loving this," Tyra accused quietly, once again thinking of Kol involuntarily.

"He's not really a Captain, Rose," the Doctor pointed out, his hands still grabbing Rose's hands.

"Do you think what I think?" Rose teased "I think you're experiencing Captain envy. You'll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them."

The Doctor ignored her, rolling his eyes "If he ever was a Captain, he's been defrocked."

"Yeah? Shame I missed that." Rose actually sounded disappointed.

Jack moved forward a little, leaning his elbows onto his knees "Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock. Most people notice when they've been teleported. You two are so sweet." He glanced at Tyra when she moved away from him the instant Rose and the Doctor became aware of their surroundings "Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security.

The Doctor looked at Jack as if he were an idiot "You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols? Maybe you should remember whose ship this is."

"Oh, I do," Jack leered "She was gorgeous. Like I told her, be back in five minutes."

"This is a Chula ship," the Doctor realised.

Jack nodded "Yeah, just like that medical transporter. Only this one is dangerous." He watched as the Doctor snapped his fingers and a golden glow enveloped his hands.

"They're what fixed my hands," Rose pointed out "Jack called them – er…"

"Nanobots? Nanogenes?" the Doctor asked.

Rose snapped her fingers "Nanogenes. That's it."

"Sub-atomic robots. There are millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now." He held out his hand to show Tyra and Rose "They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws." He turned to Jack "Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk."

Jack rolled his eyes "As soon as I get the nav-com back online. Make yourselves comfortable," he waved over his shoulder "Carry on with whatever it was you were doing."

"We were talking about dancing," the Doctor said.

Jack glanced at him for a moment "It didn't look like talking."

"It didn't feel like dancing," Rose added.

Tyra sighed and sat down on what appeared to be a bed, burying her head in her hands. Nothing made sense when she thought about it. Why did Niklaus let her go? How could the Doctor he had been talking about not be the same Doctor I was with currently? It had to be the Doctor but the description was all wrong. She looked up when someone sat down next to her.

"I seem to be asking that a lot recently but… Are you alright?" the Doctor murmured, ignoring both Rose and Jack.

"I – Yeah," she nodded "It's just… Meeting Nik has been a bit… weird, I guess. It doesn't help that Jack kinda reminds me of…"

"They stole your memories?" Rose burst out.

The Doctor and Tyra turned to the conversation the other two were having "Two years of my life," Jack nodded "No idea what I did. Your friends over there don't trust me and for all I know, they're right not to. Okay, we're good to go. Crash site?"

* * *

They were hiding behind some large boxes at the railway station that was close to the hospital "There it is," Jack pointed out "Hey, they've got Algy on duty. It must be important."

"We've got to get past him," the Doctor spoke up.

Rose straightened her jacker "Are the words distract the guard heading in my general direction?"

Jack shook his head "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Don't worry," she frowned, a little insulted "I can handle it."

"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town," Jack said, looking at Rose pointedly "Trust me, you're not his type. I'll distract him." He waved at them to stay "Don't wait up."

Rose looked after him nervously, while Tyra tilted her head, focussing on hearing what Jack was up to "Relax," the Doctor assured "He's a fifty-first-century guy. He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing."

"How flexible?"

"Well," the Doctor hummed "By his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy."

Rose raised her eyebrows "Meaning?"

"_Hey, tiger. How's it hanging?_" Jack greeted Algy with a grin on his face.

"So many species, so little time," the Doctor laughed.

Tyra snorted and almost missed the scene that was going on a little bit in front of them "_Mummy?_" Algy stuttered.

"Shit," Tyra cursed, jumping over the box "He's changing, Doctor."

The Doctor groaned and ran after her "Stay back," he shouted at Jack as Algy, by now, had fallen to his knees with the force of his retching. His face was slowly turning into a gasmask "The effect's become airborne… accelerating."

The air raid sirens started up again, causing Rose to glance around in worry "What's keeping us safe?"

"Nothing," the Doctor replied shorty. He looked around, once again tuning out the conversation Rose and Jack were having about the bomb that was supposed to fall right there "Never mind about that. If the contaminant is air-borne now, there are hours left."

Jack blinked "For what?"

"Till nothing, forever. For the entire human race," the Doctor murmured before tilting his head in confusion "Can anyone else hear singing?"

Tyra smiled lightly "Now that you mention it… It's Nancy. She's over there."

"_Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetops. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. Down will come baby, cradle and all._" The Doctor walked into the shed quietly "_Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetops. When the wind blows the cradle will rock._" That's when the Doctor returned with Nancy in tow. The girl smiled at Tyra for a moment, before they were all running to the covered Chula ambulance.

"You see?" Jack gestured "Just an ambulance."

Nancy looked at the others in surprise "That's an ambulance?"

"It's hard to explain," Rose whispered "It's from another world."

Jack climbed up easily and looked at the area around the keypad "They've been trying to get in."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Of course they have. They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon." Jack started punching in a string of numbers "What are you doing?"

"The sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll know I had nothing to do with it." Was the stoic reply he got. A shrill alarm pierced through the area and Tyra almost fell down, clutching at her ears. Jack grimaced at the sound "Didn't happen last time."

"It hadn't crashed last time," the Doctor pointed out, putting a steadying hand on Tyra's back "There'll be emergency protocols."

"Doctor, what is that?" Rose questioned, panic in her voice. She didn't understand how the others could be so bloody calm. Even if the virus thing didn't kill them, the bomb still might "Doctor!"

The Doctor looked around nervously "Captain, secure those gates."

"Why?"

"Just do it," the Doctor shouted impatiently "Nancy, how did you get in here?"

"I cut the wire."

He threw his sonic at Rose "Show Rose. Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty-eight D. Reattaches barbed wire. Go." When the others were gone, he turned to Tyra "I need you to close and – if possible – lock those gates back there. Can you do that?"

"Sure," she nodded, rubbing at her temples in annoyance. She hated headaches. Without thinking about it too long, she flashed over to the gates, closing them quickly before returning.

When she walked up, Jack was on top of the ambulance again, prying the door open "It's empty. Look at it."

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter?" the Doctor grounded out "Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?"

Rose startled before shrugging "I don't know…"

"Tyra?"

Tyra was silent for a moment. Chula ship… Chula ambulance "Nanogenes," she breathed out in shock."

"It wasn't empty, Captain," the Doctor pointed out "There were enough Nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

Jack paled drastically "Oh, God."

The Doctor nodded, satisfied that he got through to the stubborn idiot "Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashed, the Nanogenes escaped. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gasmask."

"And they brought him back to life?" Tyra questioned in surprise- There wasn't much in terms of bringing back the dead although witches for some reason had a knack to always come back. Whether anyone wanted them or not.

The Doctor scoffed "What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a Nanogene. One problem, though. These Nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They fo what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because you see, now they think they know what people should look like and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother and nothing in the world can stop it."

Jack closed his eyes "I didn't know," he muttered quietly.

The Doctor worked on the ambulance while the patients started approaching them from all sides "_Mummy. Mummy._"

"Rose," Nancy cried out.

Rose looked at the people and then over at the Doctor "It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?"

The Doctor nodded "The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol."

"But the gasmask people aren't troops," Rose pointed out.

"They are now," the Doctor remarked "This is a battlefield ambulance. The Nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you."

"That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing."

The Doctor smiled wryly "It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

The gasmask zombies surrounded the fenced area but didn't move any closer than that "Why don't they attack?"

"Good little soldiers, waiting for their commander," the Doctor murmured.

Jack inhaled sharply "The child?"

"Jamie," Nancy snapped.

"What?"

"Not the child," she pointed out "His name is Jamie."

Rose looked up at the sky uncomfortably "So, how long until that bomb falls?"

Jack glanced at his wrist strap nervously "Any second."

"What's the matter, Captain?" the Doctor mocked "A bit close to the volcano for you?"

Nancy had tears running down her cheeks "He's just a little boy," she whispered.

"I know," the Doctor murmured softly, squeezing her shoulder in comfort.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy," Nancy said. The ways she said it made Tyra's eyes widen. Everything was starting to make sense now. Why Nancy seemed more broken up about it, why she lied earlier, why she took care of all the children. She wasn't Jamie's sister, she was his mother.

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment "I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can."

"So what're we going to do?" Rose asked.

Tyra stepped towards Nancy when the gasmask people moved closer to the gates "Nancy, you lied earlier, didn't you? Jamie isn't your little brother."

The Doctor looked at Tyra in confusion before it dawned on him "Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?"

"Doctor, that bomb," Jack called out "We've got seconds."

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at the other man, his eyes hard "So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do."

"Jack?" Rose breathed when he vanished for the second time.

"How old were you five years ago?" the Doctor questioned "Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. Tyra is right, isn't she? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

The gate opened and Jamie walked closer "_Are you my mummy?_"

"He's going to keep asking, Nancy," the Doctor pointed out gently "He's never going to stop. Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me and tell him."

Nancy and Jamie walked towards each other "_Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?_"

"Yes," Nancy whispered "Yes, I am your mummy."

"_Mummy?_"

"I'm here."

"_Are you my mummy?_"

"I'm here."

"_Are you my mummy?_"

"Yes." Nancy had tears in her eyes. She wasn't scared for herself. She was scared for Jamie, for the world. She wanted her little boy back.

"_Are you my mummy?_"

The Doctor cursed quietly "He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left."

Nancy took a deep breath "I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry." She hugged Jamie, causing a cloud of Nanogenes to surround them.

"What's happening? Doctor, it's changing her, we should…" Rose's voice trailed off when the Doctor shook his head.

"Shush," the Doctor snapped "Come on, please. Come on, you clever little Nanogenes. Figure it out. The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out."

"What's happening?"

The Doctor let out a relieved laugh "See? Recognising the same DNA." Jamie let go, causing Nancy to fall backwards "Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one." The Doctor reached out to remove Jamie's gasmask, slumping in relief when it came off "Ha ha. Welcome back." He scooped up the little boy "Twenty years till pop music – you're going to love it."

"What happened?" Nancy questioned, still sitting on the ground in a daze. Tyra held out her hand to help her up.

"The Nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them. Ha ha. Mother knows best."

Nancy looked at her child softly "Oh, Jamie."

Rose looked up and let out a frightened gasp "Doctor, that bomb."

He didn't even turn to look at the approaching projectile "Taken care of," he shrugged.

"How?"

"Psychology," he waved off. The bomb hurtled towards them, getting caught in Jack's light beam just before impact.

A moment later, the air on top of the bomb shimmered and Jack was sitting there "Doctor."

"Good lad," the Doctor praised.

Jack looked down "The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis but it won't last long."

"Change of plan," the Doctor called up "Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"

"Rose? Tyra?"

"Yeah?" Rose questioned, while Tyra looked up at him with a furrowed brow.

"Goodbye." Jack and the bomb vanished, only to reappear a moment later "By the way, love the t-shirt. Bye, Grumpy." He vanished again and the spaceship sucked up the light beam and flew off.

The Doctor snapped his fingers, summoning the Nanogenes to himself. Rose watched him curiously "What are you doing?"

"Software patch," the Doctor explained "Going to email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose? I'll give you moves." He threw the Nanogenes to the waiting people, causing them to fall to the ground one after the other "Everybody lives. Just this once, everybody lives." The people were starting to get up again, completely back to normal "Doctor Constantine. Who never left his patients. Back on your feet, constant doctor. The world doesn't want to get by without you just yet and I don't blame it one bit. These are your patients. All better now."

Doctor Constantine nodded with a grin "Yes, yes, so it seems. They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station." His eyebrow wandered into his non-existent hairline "Is there any particular reason for that?"

"Yeah, well, you know… Cutbacks," the Doctor joked "Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you're probably going to find that they're cured. Just tell them what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it. Okay?" He turned around and started walking back towards his girls.

Tyra glanced over her should to see an old woman hobble up to Constantine "Doctor Constantine."

"Mrs Harcourt," the doctor greeted "How much better you're looking."

Mrs Harcourt gestured to her feet excitedly "My leg's grown back. When I came to the hospital, I had one leg."

"Well," Doctor Constantine cleared his throat, hiding a wince "There is a war on. Is it possible you miscounted?"

Tyra burst into quiet laughter at that answer. Rose looked at her with a small smile "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Tyra shook her head, turning to look away from the other girl.

The Doctor clapped his hands "Right, you lot. Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don't forget the welfare state. Setting this to self-destruct as soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"

"Usually the first in line," Rose teased half-heartedly. She didn't understand why Tyra was still mad at her. They hadn't talked normally since Tyra had yelled at Rose and she had to admit that she missed it a little. The Doctor was well and good but sometimes Rose had no idea what he was on about. It was great to have another person around who understood as little as she did. Maybe she could try to talk to Tyra?

* * *

The Doctor walked up to the Tardis, putting in some coordinates "The Nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off because I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help. All in all, all things considered, fantastic."

"You're really happy about saving them, aren't you?" Tyra asked. She was leaning against the doorway that lead to her room.

Rose beamed up at the Doctor happily "Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas."

"Who says I'm not, red bicycle when you were twelve?" he pointed out.

"What?"

The Doctor let out a happy laugh "And everybody lives. Everybody lives. I need more days like this."

"Doctor," Rose spoke up, hesitating all of a sudden.

"Go on," he beamed "Ask me anything. I'm on fire."

Rose shifted "What about Jack? Why did he say goodbye?"

The Doctor's smile fell and he sighed, running a hand through his short hair "Rose…"

"Doctor," Tyra spoke up, stepping closer again "I think he proved himself, don't you think?"

"You too, Ty?" he groaned "Alright… Fine." He pressed a few buttons on the console and gestured to the door "Go on, then." The Doctor turned back to the console and put on some music, swaying awkwardly.

Tyra tilted her head at him "What are you doing?"

He snapped his fingers with a big grin and sort of – kind of danced towards the vampire "Dancing."

"No," Tyra shook her head "Just… No."

"Come on," he pouted "Please?"

She shook her head with a small grin "Why don't you ask Rose? Wasn't she the one who wanted to see your moves?"

The Doctor looked over her shoulder "Close the door, will you?" he told Jack "Your ship's about to blow up. There's going to be a draught." Jack shut the door behind him as Rose skipped over to the other two, watching him in amusement "Welcome to the Tardis."

"Much bigger on the inside," Jack remarked quietly.

"You'd better be," the Doctor huffed, not at all angry at the man anymore. He had hopefully learned his lesson now. Just in case, he would keep an eye on the Captain but from what he saw, Jack was alright – conman and all. At least he had a reason for acting the way he did.

Rose let out a small shriek when the music changed and the Doctor twirled her around. Tyra shook her head at them and looked to the side when Jack walked up to stand next to her. She bit her lip for a moment before she sighed "I wanted to apologise," she admitted quietly.

Jack frowned "What for?"

"I… I was a bit of a bitch to you," Tyra murmured "I just… You remind me of someone and – I'm sorry."

"Hey," he smiled "I don't care. Plus, you weren't that bad. I happen to like people who aren't afraid of what to say."

Tyra ran a hand through her hair "Then you would definitely get along with my brother."

Jack raised an eyebrow "Is he the one I reminded you of?"

"Yeah," she nodded "I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing at present but… I'll let you know."

He raised a playful hand to his chest "You wound me, kind lady."

"I apologise, dear sir," Tyra laughed, shaking her head "Want me to show you to your room or wait for Rose and the Doctor to finish whatever they think they're doing?"

Jack glanced at the pair and the uncoordinated movements "Lead the way."

"Sure thing."

* * *

"Tyra?" Rose called when she saw the other girl cross into the console room. After their dance, Rose had gone to the kitchen and returned to find the Doctor gone "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Tyra sighed. She just wanted to go to her room and block out the world for a while… It had been a long day. Plus, she wanted to ask the Doctor about what Niklaus had told her. Not today, though "Sure," she sighed when the look on Rose's face registered "What's up?"

"I just – I wanted to… I'm sorry. You know, for bringing up memories," Rose rushed out "If I had known…"

"Would you have stood by and watched your father die like you wanted to?" Rose hesitated, her face answering Tyra's question without her opening her mouth "That's what I thought. Look, I don't care. If it's so important to you, fine. Apology accepted."

Rose's eyes narrowed "Why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" Tyra asked "Like myself? Rose, you did something stupid and even if it fixed itself in the end, that doesn't mean that everyone will immediately forgive you." Over the blonde's shoulder, she saw the Doctor's head popping out from underneath the console and shook her head "I'm angry." When Rose went to open her mouth, she raised her hand "I'm angry because… Because…" Because Tyra envied Rose for her naivety? Because she wished she could have saved Henrik? She didn't know the answer to the question. Tyra huffed in frustration "Never mind. Apology accepted. Now drop it, alright?"

"Okay?" Rose nodded unsurely, watching as Tyra practically stormed off.

**Omake**

It took him a long time to get away from Elijah. Too long. When Klaus picked up his sister's trail, it was cold already but better than nothing. He wanted to try and apologize again. He forgot earlier. Actually, he was too confused earlier to do what he had been planning for ages.

His head tilted to the side when he heard a familiar voice from his right. It was the annoying blonde – Petunia or some other ridiculous flower name. He followed the voice until he came upon a group of three, walking away from him towards a blue box that was standing at the end of the alley.

Klaus was about to call out to his sister when the man – he had to be the Doctor Tyra had mentioned – opened the door to the box, stepping aside to let the two girls enter.

What followed next surprised the Original. A wheezing noise filled the alley and just as he was about to move forward, the box started to fade. Actually fade into nothing. What the hell? His wide eyes were taking in the scene. This… Explained a lot and so little at the same time.

He would have to talk to Tyra, have her explain everything as soon as he saw her again. He was curious – not curious enough to wake up Kol who seemed to know more than he had been telling but curious enough to seek out his little sister.


	11. Boom Town

_Flashback_

"_You said later," Tyra spoke up, startling the Doctor. He hadn't known that she knew he was there. Rose had left a few minutes before, going to her room, so he thought he would be able to finish the Tardis repairs by himself "Now is later."_

_The Doctor sighed, putting down the tool he was holding "How long have you known that I was here?"_

"_Since I came in," she shrugged "It's hard to miss a double heartbeat when you're supposedly alone in a room." Tyra hopped onto the railing next to the jump seat "I take it you heard what Rose said."_

"_I did," he nodded "Why did you…"_

_Tyra held up her hand "I'm going to stop you right there. I might have been wrong to treat Rose the way I did but you can't tell me that I can't hold grudges because I have spent a thousand years to try and get over Henrik and then she comes and I feel like she ruined most of the progress I made. That's what I can't forgive."_

"_That's…" the Doctor broke off "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken her back there."_

"_Maybe so," Tyra agreed "But what's done is done. I'm more interested in why my brother seems to think that you're not the Doctor. How can there be someone else with the same name? It's not common…"  
_

_The Doctor leaned back on the jump seat, looking at the ceiling of the console room "There is a reason I am as old as I am. It's called regeneration."_

"_And that is what?" Tyra frowned._

"_It's a trick my people can do. When we're dying, our body changes. Every cell in our bodies changes completely," the Doctor explained "I think the man your brother saw is a future regeneration of me."_

_Tyra nodded. That made sense, even if she still didn't quite understand how such a thing could be possible. It was… Well, alien "What regeneration are you on now?"_

_The Doctor hesitates for a moment before he mutters "Nine."_

"_You're lying," Tyra pointed out, hearing the change in his hearts._

"_It's just…" he broke off "No, it doesn't matter. Can we drop it, please?"_

"_Sure," Tyra nodded "I got my answer. Thank you for that."_

_The Doctor grinned "Welcome. Now I can't wait to see how I'm going to look." Tyra was about to open her mouth when he pointed at her mock seriously "No spoilers."_

"_Alright, alright," she laughed "I'm going to leave you. Try not to destroy anything too important."_

_He gasped dramatically "I don't destroy things. I fix them."_

_"Sure you do," Tyra called over her shoulder, disappearing into a corridor._

_Flashback End_

It's been a few months since Jack joined the Tardis crew and they were all getting along relatively well. The tension between Tyra and Rose had disappeared for the most part, even if Tyra was still a little hesitant to trust the blonde again. Why she had done so in the first place, she didn't know.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked after a knock sounded at the door. They had just landed in Cardiff a few minutes ago to refuel on the rift.

"What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?" Mickey spat from outside.

"Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you're selling, we're not buying."

"Get out of my way!"

"Don't tell me," Jack remarked, stepping to the side with Mickey's push. He closed the door and walked over to the console "This must be Mickey."

"Here comes trouble," the Doctor teased "How are you doing, Ricky boy?"

Mickey glared at the Doctor "It's Mickey."

"Don't listen to him," Rose grinned "He's winding you up."

"You look fantastic." Rose and Mickey hugged, while the Doctor continued working on something up on a ladder.

"Aww, sweet, look at these two. How come I never get any of that?" Jack questioned sarcastically.

Tyra sent him a smirk "Buy me a drink first."

"You're such hard work," Jack complained with a pout.

"You wound me," Tyra breathed, mock hurt "Are you trying to imply that I'm not worth it?"

Jack leered down at her playfully "Not at all. I think you're more than worth it."

"Did you manage to find it?" Rose asked Mickey as soon as they separated.

"There you go." Mickey handed over a passport.

Rose smiled triumphantly "I can go anywhere now."

"I told you, you don't need a passport," the Doctor explained for the tenth time since Rose brought it up.

"It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything."

"Isn't that what the psychic paper is for, though?" Tyra asked.

"Sounds like you're staying, then," Mickey noted sadly, causing Rose's smile to drop. He shook his head when everyone looked at him "So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up there. Maybe I should start to flirt with Tyra over there. But this guy, I don't know, he's kind of –"

"Handsome?" Jack suggested.

"More like cheesy."

Jack frowned in confusion "Early twenty-first-century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?"

"It's bad," Mickey and Tyra said simultaneously.

"But bad means good, isn't that right?" Jack reasoned.

"Are you saying I'm not handsome?" The Doctor climbed down from his ladder.

Mickey rolled his eyes before frowning at Rose "Why Cardiff anyway?"

"We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions," Rose told him.

The Doctor continued "The rift was healed back in 1869," the Doctor continued.

"Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth, because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it."

"But closing a rift always leaves a scar and that scar generated energy, harmless to the human race," Jack joined in as well.

"But perfect for the Tardis, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and –"

"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation."

"Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!"

"Into time!"

"And space!" the others chorused.

Tyra shook her head at them in bemusement "Am I the only sane one here?" she questioned and grimaced "Huh. Never thought that I would call myself sane one of these days. First time for everything, I guess."

"My God," Mickey snorted "Have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded.

"Yes," Rose agreed.

"Yep." Jack – of course – had to take it a step further and slapped Mickey's cheek lightly.

The Doctor looked at the monitor "Should take another twenty-four hours, which means we've got time to kill," he explained and lead the others out of the Tardis.

"That old lady's staring," Mickey pointed out.

"Probably wondering what five people could do inside a small wooden box," Jack laughed.

Mickey blinked at Jack incredulously "What are you Captain of, the Innuendo Squad?" Jack made a 'Whatever' sign and started to walk away with the rest of the group following until Mickey called out "Wait, the Tardis, we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?"

"Yeah, what's with the police box?" Jack questioned "Why does it look like that?"

"How long have you wanted to ask that question?" Tyra wanted to know.

Jack grinned "Way too long."

Rose leaned against the side of the blue box "It's a cloaking device."

"Ah," the Doctor sighed "It's called a chameleon circuit. The Tardis is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands like if this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as a police box and the circuit got stuck."

"So it copied the real thing?" Mickey wondered "There actually was police boxes?"

Tyra nodded in response "On street corners, I think. You could phone for help and shove the suspect in there till help came."

Jack tilted his head in confusion "Why don't you just fix the circuit?"

"I like it, don't you?" the Doctor grinned.

"I love it," Rose agreed.

Mickey waved his hands around, trying to get their attention somehow "But that's what I meant. There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"

The Doctor grumbled in annoyance "Rickey, let me tell you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap-bang in the middle of town, what do they do? Walk past it." He clapped Mickey's back and started walking away again "Now, stop your nagging. Let's go and explore."

"What's the plan?" Rose questioned.

"I don't know," the Doctor shrugged "Cardiff, early twenty-first century and the wind's coming from the east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe."

* * *

"I swear," Jack gestured, in the middle of telling a story "Six feet tall and with big tusks."

"You're lying through your teeth," the Doctor exclaimed.

Rose shook her head in amazement "I'd have gone bonkers. That's the word – bonkers."

Jack grinned "I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks. And it's woken, and it's not happy."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows "How could you not know it was there?"

"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked…"

Rose cut him off "Naked?!"

"And I'm like, oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me," the Captain continued "And then it roars and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say…"

Mickey was the one to finish the line with a laugh "I knew we should have turned left."

Jack nodded, roaring with laughter "That's my line."

"I don't believe you," Rose shook her head "I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?"

Tyra looked up at the Doctor when he got up to snatch the newspaper from the man at the table next to them "Doctor?"

"And I was having such a nice day," he murmured, holding up the front page of the Western Mail with the picture of the Mayor. A certain Slitheen seemed to have showed up again. As the Mayor of Cardiff nevertheless.

* * *

Jack clapped his hand after the group entered City Hall "According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty-seven fifty-six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face with Tyra. That'll designate Exit One, I'll cover Exit Two. Rose, you Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Have you got that?"

The Doctor cleared his throat "Excuse me. Who's in charge?"

"Sorry," Jack grinned sheepishly, saluting "Awaiting orders, sir."

"Right," the Doctor nodded "Here's the plan." Ha paused dramatically "Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?"

That was when Tyra spoke up "Yeah. I'll go with Mickey. Don't fancy that whole face to face thing."

"Fine with me," the Doctor shrugged.

Jack looked at the others when no one else spoke up and pulled out his phone "Present arms."

They each pulled out their phones and chorused 'Ready' before separating.

Tyra pulled Mickey down the right hallway and nudged him lightly "You alright?"

"Yeah," he smiled lightly "You know… That advice you gave me. Thanks."

"My pleasure," she curtsied with a grin.

Just when Tyra opened her mouth to say something else, the Doctor's voice filtered through the speaker of the phone "Slitheen heading north."

Mickey's eyes widened "Oh, my God."

"Come on, Mickey," Tyra called, running towards the exit. She vaulted over the cleaning woman's trolley, landing in a roll. She stopped when she heard a crash, only to see that Mickey had run right into the woman "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he waved off, limping towards her "Go. You're faster than me."

Tyra nodded, bursting out of the door as Margaret was about to run past "Hello, bitch. Missed me?" she asked with a smirk, letting her vampire features show for the shortest of moments.

"Margaret," the Doctor called out, hurrying towards the Slitheen.

Jack and Rose ran up behind him, seeing Tyra standing in the woman's way "Where's Mickey?" Rose panted.

"Here I am," Mickey exclaimed, rushing out of the door.

"This is persecution," Margaret hissed, glaring at the group in front of her "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

"You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet," the Doctor pointed out.

Margaret grimaced "Apart from that."

* * *

The Doctor whirled around to face the Slitheen as soon as they reached her office in the City Hall "So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family gets killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"

Margaret smiled sweetly "A philanthropic gesture. I've learned the error of my ways."

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift?" the Doctor asked doubtfully.

"What rift would that be?" the Slitheen questioned, trying to appear innocent.

Jack crossed his arms "A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go boom."

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity," the Doctor noted.

Rose gasped "Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

"We're in Cardiff," the Slitheen snorted "London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice." She froze in surprise "Oh. I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"But why would she do that?" Mickey frowned "A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

"She's got a name, you know," Margaret spat venomously.

Tyra scoffed "So what if you do? Personally, I don't care one bit about you."

The Doctor heard the tone of her voice and sighed "Tyra," he warned lightly.

"Yes, yes," she waved off with a sigh "I know."

Jack frowned at a different looking section of the model "What is this?" he asked, pulling the middle section of the model and turned it over to reveal electronics "Doctor, look at this. Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?"

The Doctor looked at him in surprise "Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Ooh," Jack gasped "Genius. You didn't build this."

"I have my hobbies," Margaret waved off "A little tinkering."

Jack shook his head "No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you."

"I bet she stole it," Mickey exclaimed.

The Slitheen shrugged "It fell into my hands."

"Is it a weapon?" Rose whispered.

Jack shook his head "It's transport," he explained "You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."

"It's a surfboard?"

"A pan-dimensional surfboard," Jack nodded "Yeah."

Margaret let out an annoyed sigh at being found out "And it would have worked. I would have surfed away from this dead-end dump and back to civilisation."

"You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?" Mickey demanded incredulously.

"Like stepping on an anthill," Margaret smirked.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was staring at the banner on the wall at the other end of the room "How did you think of the name?"

"What?" the Slitheen frowned "Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh."

"I know," the Doctor rolled his eyes "But how did you think of it?"

Margaret shrugged "I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?"

"Blaidd Drwg," the Doctor whispered to himself.

"Hey, isn't that…" Tyra trailed off "Where have I heard that before?"

"What's it mean?" Rose questioned curiously.

Tyra looked over at her "Bad Wolf."

Mickey raised his eyebrow at her "How do you know that?"

"I speak Welsh," Tyra shrugged "And tons of other languages as well."

"How many?"

Tyra shrugged "Way too many. Truthfully, I blame my brother for that."

Mickey smiled a little "You have a brother?"

"I have four," Tyra snorted "And a sister."

Rose was a little surprised by that information. She thought she had gotten to know Tyra relatively well but now that she thought about it, the blonde still didn't know too much about the other girl. She shook her head. It wasn't the time to think about that. What did Tyra say again? Bad Wolf… "I heard that before. Bad Wolf," Rose spoke up "I've heard that lots of times."

The Doctor nodded "Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf."

"How can they be following us?" Rose breathed.

"Nah," the Doctor waved off with a grin "Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home."

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?" Jack demanded.

Rose let out a noise "I don't believe it… We actually get to go to Raxa…" The Doctor rolled his eyes as the blonde tried and failed to say the name "Raxacor…"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius," the Doctor intoned.

"Raxacorico…"

"fallapatorius."

"Raxacoricofallapatorius," Rose finished "That's it. I did it."

Margaret glared at them "They have the death penalty. The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death."

The Doctor shrugged dismissively "Not my problem."

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the group had gotten back to the Tardis. As soon as she entered, Margaret let out an amazed gasp "This ship is impossible," she marvelled "It's superb. How did you get the outside around the inside?"

The Doctor shot her a glare "Like I'd give you the secret, yeah."

Tyra walked past Jack who was studying the extrapolator and climbed the ladder the Doctor had been on earlier, sitting down on the edge.

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the Gods," Margaret breathed.

"Don't worship me," the Doctor rolled his eyes "I'd make a very bad God. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

Jack looked down at the board in his hands "This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Slitheen shrugged, not really interested in the conversation anymore. Tyra could feel her looking at her in trepidation. The vampire had noticed Margaret trying to study her as inconspicuously as possible. Not that it was working, mind "Some airlock sale?"

"Must have been a great big heist," Jack mocked "It's stacked with power."

The Doctor leaned over the Captain, looking at the board "But can we use it for fuel?"

"It's not compatible," Jack shook his head "But it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Then we're stuck here overnight," the Doctor murmured.

Margaret sat down on the jump seat and shrugged dismissively "I'm in no hurry."

"We've got a prisoner," Rose realized "The police box is really a police box."

The Slitheen scoffed "You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it," Mickey bit out.

"You're very quick to say so," Margaret shot back "You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly?"

Tyra jumped from the ladder, landing on her feet easily "There are alternatives. I could torture you to death if you like that idea better. I have no problem doing the dirty work," she smirked dangerously.

Rose stared at the other girl with wide eyes before they narrowed. Her tone was bordering on non-nonchalant as if Tyra was well used to torturing people.

"Tyra," the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know," Tyra grumbled, leaning against the console to watch what Jack was doing.

It didn't take long for Rose and Mickey to excuse themselves, wanting some time to talk. They left Margaret with the Doctor, Tyra and Jack "What are you?" the Slitheen spoke up after a few moments of silence, looking at Tyra.

"Margaret," the Doctor snapped, trying to get the Slitheen to stop. He wasn't sure whether Tyra would want Jack to know, so it was best to nip this in the bud right away.

"I've been trying to find out since you attacked me but… There is a suspicious lack of information."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "What is she talking about?"

"I might have… lost control a tiny little bit," Tyra shrugged sheepishly before looking at Margaret "Why should I tell you?"

"You're going to take me to die," the Slitheen pointed out "Who am I possibly going to tell?"

Tyra scoffed "You act like I actually care. I wasn't kidding earlier. I would gladly kill you myself but I really don't want anywhere near your blood. It smells disgusting."

Jack looked over "What is she talking about?"

"Up to you," the Doctor shrugged when Tyra looked at him questioningly.

Tyra sighed and ran a hand through her hair "I'm a vampire."

Jack raised his eyebrows. He had heard about the existence of vampires before but he didn't think that they had been around since the twenty-first century. Originally, he thought that they had only surfaced later when humans started mingling with aliens more and more "Are you human? Or how does this work?"

"Yeah," Tyra nodded "I… I was human once. A long time ago."

Jack glanced up from the wires "How long ago?"

"Oh, over a thousand years ago? Give or take a few decades," Tyra shifted, looking at the Slitheen "Satisfied?"

"Why didn't I find any information on you?" Margaret questioned.

Tyra shrugged "How should I know? It's not like any of us are particularly subtle. You probably just looked in the wrong place."

Margaret looked ready to say something else but thought better of it, changing the subject instead "Do I get a last request?" the Slitheen asked the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to her with narrowed eyes "Depends what it is."

"I grew quite fond of my little human life," she explained "All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine."

The Doctor tilted his head in disbelief "Is that what you want, a last meal?"

"It's not like I can escape," Margaret pointed out "So where's the danger? I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough," the Doctor shot back.

"I wonder," the Slitheen said absent-mindedly "I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them."

The Doctor crossed his arms "You won't change my mind."

"Prove it," Margaret challenged.

"There are people out there," the Doctor shook his head "If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."

"Except I've got these," Jack spoke up, holding up two wrist cuffs "You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, she gets zapped by ten thousand volts."

The Doctor took the cuffs, holding one out to the Slitheen "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

Margaret smiled painfully "Dinner in bondage. Works for me."

"Oh, gross," Tyra groaned as soon as they were gone. She looked at Jack thoughtfully "Why did you have those in your pocket anyway?"

"No reason," the Captain grinned and paused in his work "So vampire, huh?"

Tyra hummed and plopped down on the ground next to Jack "Yup. Problem?"

"Not at all," Jack shook his head "I just have a question. Does Rose know?"

"She doesn't," Tyra denied "Only the Doctor does… And now you."

Jack tilted his head "I have a question. There are a few things I heard about vampires and it said that you have a trick similar to mind control?"

"We do. It's called compulsion and it can – in essence – make you do anything I want."

Jack raised his eyebrow challengingly "I seriously doubt that."

"You want me to show you?" Tyra asked, an idea blooming in her head "Because I have no problem with compelling anyone. Not even you."

"No," Jack denied "I just don't believe you."

Tyra stalked forward "I can change that." Without so much as a pause, she grabbed his chin, tilting his head up "You will let me do anything I want to you."

"Anything," Jack repeated, his pupils dilating.

"Great," Tyra clapped her hands "Go and strip to your underpants." She watched him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Oh, how she hoped that the Tardis was recording this… Best blackmail ever. When Jack was done, she looked at him thoughtfully. Should she do anything else? "Alright, Jack. I want you to walk right out of here and jump into the Bay." Jack nodded and walked out of the doors. Tyra let out a small laugh when the splash reached her ears "Please tell me you recorded this." The monitor in front of her flashed, showing the events that happened from various angles "You're awesome. Thank you so much, Tardis. Can you get that to my phone?"

"I hate you," Jack hissed, slinking back into the Tardis, shivering from the cool air.

"Hey, at least you're still wearing underpants," Tyra pointed out with a grin "I never could resist a proper challenge." She looked at his dripping body "Maybe you should go and change."

Jack leered "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer me naked?"

"Oh, if I wanted you naked, I could have already had you," she pointed out, flashing her teeth at him "Go get dressed."

* * *

Jack had just finished hooking up the surfboard to the console when the Tardis started shaking uncontrollably. He ripped the wires away frantically, looking up when Tyra burst into the room, a bag of blood in her hand "What happened?" she asked.

"What the hell are you doing?" The Doctor burst in at the same time as Tyra had asked the question.

"It just went crazy," Jack defended.

The Doctor ran around the console, checking what was happening "It's the rift," he announced "Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear."

"It's the extrapolator. I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis. I can't stop it," Jack panicked.

"Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet."

Rose entered, completely out of breath "What is it? What's happening?"

"Oh, just little me," the Slitheen simpered. She ripped an arm off, grabbing Rose by the throat "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."

"I might have known," the Doctor sneered darkly.

Tyra was moving forward, ready to finish this once and for all when the Doctor wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her back.

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it. You, flyboy, put the extrapolator at my feet," she ordered Jack, tightening her grip on Rose's throat. The Doctor nodded at him and Jack obeyed hesitatingly "Thank you. Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up a nuclear power station," Rose croaked.

"Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you," the Slitheen explained.

"The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet," Jack pointed out.

Margaret sneered "And you with it." She stepped onto the extrapolator "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys, freak. Surf's up."

Tyra strained against the Doctor's grip but not hard enough to break free "I think the Tardis might have something to say to that," she muttered, hearing the angry humming in her mind.

"It's not just any old power source," the Doctor agreed "It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap," Margaret sneered.

"What's that light?" Rose questioned, squinting at the Doctor.

"The heart of the Tardis," the Doctor grinned "She's alive. And you opened her soul."

"It's so bright," the Slitheen breathed, staring into the open console.

The Doctor released Tyra's waist, stepping forward "Look at it, Margaret."

"Beautiful."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

Margaret relaxed and slackened her hold on Rose. As soon as she was free, Rose hurried over to Jack who pulled her behind him "Thank you," Margaret smiled before she disappeared into the light.

"Don't look," the Doctor shouted "Stay there and close your eyes." He started working on closing the console "Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut it down. Tyra, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right" When the console was the same it was before, the Doctor sighed in relief "Nicely done. Thank you all."

"What happened to Margaret?" Rose questioned, her voice still rough.

"Must have burned up," Jack shrugged "Carried out her own death sentence."

"No," the Doctor mused "I don't think she's dead."

Tyra crept over to the empty bodysuit and knelt down "I don't think so either," she remarked, pulling out a weird green egg with dreadlocks.

"She's an egg?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Regressed to her childhood," the Doctor confirmed.

"She's an egg?" Jack echoed Rose.

"She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right!"

"Or she could be worse," Jack pointed out.

"Let's not hope that," Tyra sighed tiredly. And she had broken her blood bag earlier. So much for a drink…

"She's an egg," Rose repeated, stunned.

Jack eyed the egg "Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don't often get to say that."

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance," the Doctor remarked softly.

"That'd be nice," Rose sighed.

Tyra sneered lightly. Here was a nineteen-year-old girl basically saying that her life was so 'bad' that she'd want a second chance. If Tyra could change anything, she would make sure that Esther would have never had the chance to make them into vampires. Everything her siblings and she turned out to be. It was all her fault. Hers and Mikael's.

**Omake**

Jack was sitting in his office underneath Roald Dahl Plass and winced at the computer screen in front of him. He had been dreading this day, to be honest. Not only because of the potential paradox but because of this exact scene. He was watching the CCTV of the Plass, wanting to hide away forever. His younger self was walking across the screen as if sleep-walking, heading straight for the Bay.

He risked a glance over the top of the monitor, seeing that his team was still working on their respective tasks. Good. At least they wouldn't get curious. Not that they knew anything was going on – yet but that didn't really help his paranoia. A part of him hoped that they would never find out about the stunt Tyra pulled. Then again, that would probably mean that his Valkyrie would never meet his team. He knew Tyra by now and knew her well enough to be able to say that she would definitely tell them if she got the chance. Either to give them some blackmail on him or because she wanted to see his team's reaction.

Jack had been with Torchwood Three for well over a century now and the right time was slowly getting closer. It wouldn't be too long until he found a version of the Doctor that could help him. This was the turning point. His younger self's life was almost about to change.

"Jack?" Tosh called out hesitatingly. She had knocked on the door several times without acknowledgement, so she had entered, calling his name "Jack?"

Jack startled, quickly closing the window on his monitor "Sorry, Tosh. I was miles away."

"I could tell," the tech genius replied, blinking at Jack's quick movement. What he was trying to hide, she wasn't sure and if she was a lesser person, she would probably try to find out. But since Jack was Jack, she didn't think he would appreciate her digging in his business. Maybe someday he would come clean and tell them more about himself but she wouldn't get her hopes up. He was a private person. Sure, he would tell stories to whoever wanted to hear them but in general, he divulged relatively few information about himself "I just wanted to tell you that there's some weird activity. And it's getting stronger."

"Don't intervene," Jack said "Whatever happens, don't do anything."

Tosh frowned in confusion "What? Why? Jack, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Tosh," he waved off "But it's taken care of. I promise you."

"Alright," Tosh nodded unsurely "If you say so."


	12. Bad Wolf

**Okay, so this did not want to be written the way I wanted to do it. I hope you'll still like it, though.**

**I was going to say something else, but I forgot, so... Yeah.**

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

Tyra let out a pained groan when she came to. She frowned, trying to remember what happened. The last thing she remembered was getting back to the Tardis after their chase in Kyoto 1336. So… Where was she now?

"About time you woke up," an unfamiliar voice sighed in exasperation.

Tyra jerked away from the hand on her shoulder, rolling onto her feet more or less gracefully. As soon as she was upright, she swayed, her hand clutching at her head.

"Calm down. The transmat beam can scramble your head a bit."

"Transmat?" she squinted "Where the hell am I?"

The young man raised an eyebrow "The Game Station," he pointed out "I'm Colin, by the way."

"Right," Tyra muttered distractedly. She ignored him and looked around. She was in a large room that looked like the set of a game show or something "How did I get here?"

Colin blinked "Transmat beam. Picks you up at random."

"Yes, yes. You said," Tyra rolled her eyes, crossing her arms "But for what?"

"You're not serious?" he chuckled but stopped when the unamused look on her face registered "Okay, maybe you are. It's for the game?"

Tyra shook her head, getting annoyed by his non-existent answers. She narrowed her eyes and quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him closer "Tell me what's going on here."

"_Catchphrase_," he replied dully "We are here to play. The person who wins the game gets a million credits."

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly, patting his cheek a little as he came out of his daze "Was that so hard?"

Colin blinked a couple of time and paled "What did you just do?"

"Nothing," Tyra told him, her pupils dilating "Absolutely nothing." She turned away from him before she looked around again "_Catchphrase_…? As in… Oh, great. Why is it always me?"

* * *

The Doctor was whirling around the tiny room he had appeared in in confusion "What is it?" he asked "What's happening?" He leaned against one of the walls and fell out of the cupboard.

"Oh, my God," one of the girl cried out in surprise "I don't believe it. Why'd they put you in there? They never said you were coming."

"What happened?" the Time Lord demanded, trying to shake off the fuzziness of the transmat "I was…"

"Careful now. Oh, mind yourself. That's the transmat. It scrambles your head. I was sick for days." Lynda tilted her head when he straightened up a little, looking somewhat less pale "Alright? What's your names, then?"

The Doctor got up somewhat unsteadily "The Doctor, I think… I was, er… I don't know what happened? How…"

"You got chosen," the young woman pointed out.

"Chosen for what?" the Time Lord asked warily.

Lynda smiled happily "You're a housemate. You're in the house. Isn't that brilliant?"

Over by a very pink screen that made the Doctor grimace inwardly, a young man huffed in annoyance "That's not fair," he exclaimed "We've got eviction in five minutes. I've been here for all nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning and then he comes swanning in."

The dark-skinned woman next to him shook her head "If they keep changing the rules, I'm going to protest, I am. You watch me, I'm going to paint the walls."

"_Would the Doctor please come to the Diary Room?_" A door to the side lit up, causing the Doctor to step towards it hesitatingly. He had no idea what was going on and the last thing he needed right now was anything else happening. He just wanted to find the others and get back to the Tardis.

He walked through the door, sitting down on a huge, somewhat comfy chair.

"_You are live on channel forty-four thousand. Please do not swear._"

"You have got to be kidding," the Doctor pressed out, staring at the camera in annoyance. It was only just dawning on him what was going on around him and he was less than impressed. Actually, he still didn't quite get what was going on but at least he was a step closer? The only question apart from how to get out of there was… Where were Tyra, Rose and Jack? If they weren't here with him then where?

The Doctor was checking his surroundings with the sonic, glaring at the door "I can't open it."

"It's got a deadlock seal," Lynda pointed out "Ever since Big Brother five hundred and four when they all walked out. You must remember that?"

The Time Lord moved over to the huge window front "What about this?"

"Oh, that's exoglass," Lynda explained "You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."

"Don't tempt me," the Doctor joked.

The young woman bit her lip, stepping a little closer to the man "I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world but you must've been watching. Do people like me? Lynda. Lynda with a 'y', not Linda with an 'i'. She got forcibly evicted because she damaged the camera. Am I popular?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment "I don't remember," he told her, trying to get her to drop the subject.

"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing?" Lynda's face fell "Some people get this far because they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?"

"No, you're – you're nice," the Doctor back-pedalled "You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet."

Lynda smiled shyly "Oh, is that right? Is that what I am? Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?"

"Yeah," the Doctor hummed, already back to focussing on a way out "Dead sweet."

"Thank you."

The Time Lord frowned at one of the sides of the room "It's a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?"

Lynda snorted "Don't be daft," she shook her head "No one's got a garden anymore. Who's got a garden?" She froze and stared at the curious man with wide eyes "Don't tell me you've got a garden."

"No," the Doctor shook his head "I've just got the Tardis. I remember."

"That's the amnesia," Lynda nodded in understanding "So what happened? Where did they get you?"

The Doctor frowned thoughtfully, his brain already piecing the events together "We'd just left Raxacoricofallapatorious. Then we went to Kyoto." He nodded "That's right, Japan in 1336 and we only just escaped. And Tyra hit Jack over the head because it had been his fault…"

"Who are Tyra and Jack?" Lynda asked curiously.

The Doctor's head turned to her and he blinked, shaking himself internally "Just some friends of mine. Anyway, we were together in the Tardis, we were laughing and then there was this light… This white light coming through the walls and then… And then I woke up here."

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam," Lynda nodded in agreement "That's how they pick the housemates."

"Oh, Lynda with a 'Y'," the Time Lord sighed "Sweet little Lynda. It's worse than that. I'm not just a passing traveller. No stupid little transmat beam gets inside my ship. That beam was fifteen million times more powerful which means this isn't just a game. There is something on." The Doctor's gaze turned to one of the cameras "Well, here's the latest update from the Big Brother house. I'm getting out. I'm going to find my friends and then I'm going to find you."

With that said, he once again went to look at the walls, doorways and windows. There had to be a way to get out. Some way to escape and find the others. Nothing was secure enough to stop him…

"Doctor," Lynda called from the couch a few minutes later "They said all the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to."

The Doctor groaned lightly "I'm busy getting out, thanks."

Lynda looked over at him, worry in her eyes "But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished."

"Well, maybe I'll be voted out, then," the Doctor shrugged.

"How stupid are you?" Strood snapped "You've only just joined, you're not eligible."

"Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck," Lynda pointed out.

The Doctor gritted his teeth "Fine." He slinked over to the sofa, throwing himself down in annoyance. He crossed his arms, staring at the screen mulishly.

"_Big Brother House, this is Davina Droid. Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction. And the eight person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is…_" There was a long pause, causing the humans to exchanged uneasy glances "_Crosbie._"

The Doctor leaned back on the sofa, playing with loose threads in one of the pillows.

"I'm sorry," Lynda gasped, raising her hand to her mouth "Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry."

"Oh, it should have been me," Strood shook his head "Oh, that's not fair." He got up, holding out his arms "Crosbie, love."

"_Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells and then we're going to get you,_" the Droid explained.

Lynda sniffled as the three humans made their way to the door "I won't forget you."

Crosbie was sobbing "I'm sorry I stole your soap."

"I don't mind," the young woman shook her head "Honestly."

"Thanks for the food. You're a smashing cook," Strood murmured "Bless you."

"_Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House._" A door to a short corridor opened with a second door at the far end."

Crosbie took one more look around "Bye, then. Bye, Lynda."

"Bye." Lynda and Strood made an arch with their hands and Crosbie walked through "I don't believe it," Lynda shook her head "Crosbie."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "It's only a game show. She'll make a fortune on the outside. Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that. She'll be laughing."

He was on the receiving end of a puzzled look "What do you mean, on the outside?"

"Here we go," Strood exclaimed, hurrying over to the sofa to watch Crosbie on the screen.

The Doctor frowned when the proceedings seemed to take longer than necessary "What are they waiting for? Why don't they just let her go?"

"Stop," Lynda hissed, glaring at the man. She couldn't believe that he was this insensitive "It's not funny."

"_Eviction in five, four, three, two, one._" A beam shot from the ceiling and hit Crosbie. After only a few moments, she vanished in a puff of smoke, causing the Doctor to shoot up from his position, almost stumbling over his own feet.

"What was that?"

Strood licked his lips "Disintegrator beam."

"She's been evicted," Lynda explained when it seemed like the man still didn't quite understand "From life."

The Time Lord shook his head at them "Are you insane?" he demanded "You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?"

"You're talking like we've got a choice," Lynda muttered.

"But… I thought you had to apply," the Doctor pointed out. At least he was very sure that it worked that way.

Strood rolled his eyes with a scoff "Don't be so stupid. That's how they played it centuries back."

"You get chosen whether you like it or not," the young woman said "Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant. The transmat beam picks you out at random. And it's non-stop. There are sixty Big Brother Houses running all at once."

The Doctor gaped at her "How many? Sixty?" So much for easily finding the others…

"They've had to cut back," Strood pointed out, his tone for the first time not condescending "It's not what it was."

"It's a charnel house," the Time Lord breathed "What about the winners? What do they get?"

Lynda shrugged "They get to live."

"Is that it?"

"Isn't that enough?"

The Doctor ran a hand over his head "Tyra, Rose and Jack are out there. They got caught in the transmat as well… They're contestants," he muttered before an idea sparked in his mind "That other contestant… Er – Linda with an 'I'. She was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage of property," Lynda answered immediately, not understanding the relevance of the question at all. He couldn't seriously be planning to…

"What?" the Doctor challenged, raising his screwdriver "Like this?" One of the cameras sparked and smoked lightly.

Almost as soon as he lowered his arm, the voice of the Droid came through the speaker "_The Doctor, you've broken the House Rules. Big Brother has no choice but to evict you. You have ten seconds to make your farewells and then we're going to get you._"

"That's more like it," he laughed, jumping up before waiting in front of the door impatiently "Come on, then. Open up."

Lynda stared at him "You're mad," she exclaimed.

The Doctor looked at her for a moment and almost ran in when the door opened in front of him. The faster this was over, the better "Come on then, disintegrate me," he called up to the ceiling "Come on, what're you waiting for?"

Lynda was watching the screen from the door "He is… He's mad," she breathed, shaking her head "He's absolutely bonkers."

"Disintegrate me," the Doctor shouted "What are you waiting for?"

"_Eviction in five, four, three, two, one…_" The machine shut down. Of course… They hadn't come here by accident. Someone had brought them here and wanted them in the games. There was no way they would be getting killed with something so interested in them.

The Doctor let out a laugh that was part relief and part triumphant "Ah, ha. I knew it. You see, someone brought us into this game. If they'd wanted me dead, they could've transmatted me into a volcano. They want me alive." He looked up at the camera again "Maybe security isn't as tight this end. Are you following this? I'm getting out." The Doctor opened the white door, looking over at Lynda "Come with me."

"We're not allowed," Strood pointed out.

The Doctor snorted "Stay in there, you've got a fifty-fifty chance of disintegration. Stay with me, I promise I'll get you out alive. Come on."

Lynda shook her head "No, I can't… I can't."

"Lynda," the Time Lord started, looking her right in the eye "You're sweet. From what I've seen of your world, do you think anyone votes for sweet?" He held out his hand, waiting for Lynda to take it. She did a moment later and the two ran out together, leaving Strood behind as the doors closed again.

The Doctor froze just outside the doors, looking around "Hold on," he muttered "I've been here before. This is Satellite Five." He glanced around and shrugged "No guards. That makes a change. You'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth." He opened another door and walked through.

Lynda hurried after the Doctor "No one's called it Satellite Five in ages. It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years."

"A hundred years exactly," the Doctor nodded "It's the year two zero zero one zero zero. I was here before. Floor one three nine. The Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then. Had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious. Easy. Gave them a hand, home in time for tea."

Lynda looked on with wide eyes "A hundred years ago? What, you were here a hundred years ago?"

"I was," the Doctor nodded.

"You're looking good on it," the young woman commended with wide eyes.

The Doctor shot her a small smirk "I moisturise." He turned around and went to work on a small computer screen "Funny sorts of readings," he mumbled "All kinds of energy. The place is humming. It's weird. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?"

"I don't know," Lynda shrugged "I think we're the first ever contestants to get outside."

The Doctor hummed absentmindedly "I had three friends travelling with me. They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?"

"I don't know," the young woman repeated "They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

"Like… what?" the Time Lord questioned warily.

Lynda scratched her head "Well, there's ten floors of Big Brother. There's a different House behind each of those doors. And then beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's non-stop. There's Call My Bluff with real guns. Countdown where you got thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off. Ground Force which is a nasty one. You get turned into compost. Er… Wipeout, speaks for itself. Oh, and Stars In Their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded."

"And you watch that stuff?" the Time Lord blinked, looking up from the screen.

Lynda nodded "Everyone does. How come you don't?"

"Never paid for my licence," the Doctor grinned.

"Oh, my God," the young woman gasped "You get executed for that."

The Doctor huffed out a laugh "Let them try."

"You keep saying things that don't make sense. Who are you though, Doctor, really? Where are you from?"

The Doctor shook his head and shot her a dark look "It doesn't matter."

"Well, it does to me," the young woman exclaimed "I've just put my life in your hands."

"I'm just a traveller," the Doctor sighed "Wandering past. Believe it or not, all I'm after is a quiet life with my friends."

Lynda looked at him in consideration "So, if we get out of here, what're you going to do? Just wander off again?"

"Fast as I can," the Time Lord agreed.

"So, I could come with you?" Lynda asked, looking at the man hopefully. She liked being around him. Maybe he would take her along? She would love to travel but back home… Back home it was so restricting. Everyone had to follow the rules and if you didn't… Well, nothing good came from it.

The Doctor smiled at her. He really did like the young woman. Actually, he wouldn't have asked her to come along with him earlier if he didn't "Maybe you could."

"I wouldn't get in the way," Lynda assured quickly.

"I wouldn't mind if you did," the Doctor told Lynda "Not a bad idea, actually. Lynda with a 'Y'. But first of all, we've got to concentrate on the getting out. And to do that, you've got to know your enemy. Who's controlling it? Who's in charge of the satellite now?"

"Hold on," Lynda exclaimed, running off towards one of the walls. She turned on the light, making a sign light up "Your Lords and Masters." She gestured to the 'BadWolf Corporation' logo high up on the wall.

The Doctor hurried over to the door near Lynda and stepped through to an observation deck that looked similar to when he had last been here. Now, where was… Ah, over there. Now he only had to find the others and the Tardis before they could finally get out of here. He glanced over to the young woman for a moment before turning his attention back to the computer console.

"Blimey," Lynda gasped "I've never seen it for real before. Not from orbit." She stared out of the window with a smile "Planet Earth."

The Time Lord looked out as well, only now noticing that there was something very wrong with the planet below "What's happened to it?"

"Well," Lynda shrugged "It's always been like that ever since I was born. See that there? That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us when it's safe to breath outside."

"So the population just sits there?" the Doctor blinked "Half the world's too far and half the world's too thin and you lot just watch telly?"

"Ten thousand channels," Lynda nodded "All beaming down from here."

The Doctor sneered lightly "The Human Race. Brainless sheep being fed on a diet of… Mind you, have they still got that programme where three people have to life with a beer?"

"Oh, Bear With Me," she exclaimed "I love that one."

"And me," the Doctor grinned "The celebrity edition where the bear…"

"… Got in the bath," the finished together before the Doctor's face turned back to grave

"It's all gone wrong. I mean, history's wrong again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. I don't understand. Last time I was here, I put it right."

Lynda looked over at him and shook her head "No, but that's when it first went wrong. A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels… They just shut down overnight."

"But that was me," the Doctor breathed "I did that."

"There was nothing left in their place," Lynda explained quietly, watching as the man's expression crumbled "No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. One hundred years of hell."

The Doctor swallowed "Oh, my… I made this world."

"Hey, handsome. Good to see you. Any sign of Rose and Tyra?" Jack called out from the door, walking in. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at his outfit but chose not to comment. It was better that way.

"I don't know," the Doctor shook his head "Can't you find them?"

"They must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded."

The Doctor glared at the computer angrily "If I can just get inside this computer. They've got to be here somewhere."

"You better hurry," the Captain pointed out "These games don't seem to have happy endings."

The Time Lord scoffed "You don't think I know that?"

He startled when Jack threw his Vortex Manipulator at him "Here you go," the other man nodded "Patch that in. It's programmed to find them both."

"Thanks."

It was then that Jack's eyes caught Lynda who was watching the scene in a little bit of shock "Hey, there," he grinned.

"Hello," Lynda greeted.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack introduced himself.

The young woman smiled a little "Lynda Moss."

Jack grinned, waggling his eyebrows "Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."

"Do you mind flirting outside?" the Doctor groaned.

"I was just saying hello," Jack huffed.

Lynda shook her head with a blush "I'm not complaining."

"Muchas gracias."

All of a sudden, the Doctor threw down the VM in frustration "It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense." He kicked the console as Jack sighed and got up from the floor "This place should be a basic broadcaster but the systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."

"Like… What?" Jack blinked, taking off the front plate of the console.

The Doctor shook his head "I don't know. This whole Bad Wolf thing is tied up with me. Someone's manipulated my entire life. It's some sort of trap and we're stuck in it."

* * *

"Rose," the Anne Droid spoke up, turning to the girl with the final question "In history, which Icelandic city hosted Murder Spree Twenty?"

"Reykjavik?" Rose asked unsurely, naming the only city from Iceland that she actually knew.

The Anne Droid paused "No, the correct answer is Pola Ventura."

"Oh, my God," Rodrick laughed "I've done it." He smirked at Rose smugly "You've lost."

Rose stepped backwards, shaking her head "But I'm not meant to be here. I need to find the Doctor, he's got to be here somewhere. He's always there. He wouldn't just leave me."

"Rodrick, you're the strongest link, you will be transported home with one thousand six hundred credits," the Anne Droid announced.

"Oh, thank you," he gushed "Thank you so much."

Rose stared at them with wide eyes, still backing away "This game is illegal. I'm telling you to stop."

The door behind her burst open and the Doctor hurried in with Jack and Lynda hot on his heels "Rose! Stop this game."

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing," the Anne Droid pointed out, turning towards the girl.

Jack stared at them with horror, pointing the defabricator at them "Stop this game."

"I order you to stop this game," the Doctor hissed.

"You are the weakest link," the Anne Droid continued, not even pausing.

Rose turned to run towards the group "Look out for the Anne Droid, it's armed." Just as those words left her mouth, the Anne Droid shot her.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Jack demanded, staring down at the pile of dust that had been his friend. The Doctor fell to his knees next to the pile as Jack tried to keep the people away from him "Back off."

"I need security and I need it here right now," the Floor Manager demanded "It's this lot."

When the security guards tried to get the Doctor to stand up, Jack pushed them back "Don't you touch him. Leave him alone."

"Sir, put down the gun or I'll have to shoot," one of the Guards spoke up carefully, as another pulled the Doctor up and to the door.

Jack sneered at them and threw down the gun "You killed her. Your stupid freaking game show killed her."

"Sir, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate."

* * *

Rose woke with a gasp, looking around in confusion. Didn't she just die? She flinched when she felt hands on her shoulders "Are you okay?" Tyra asked quietly.

"Why – How are we here? I died."

"Well, apparently you didn't. Neither of us did," Tyra muttered "You… You won't like what's going on."

Rose frowned "What's going on? Where are we?"

"Yeah," Tyra grimaced, rubbing the back of her neck "About that."

At that moment, a Dalek appeared from behind her, moving into Rose's view "No, it can't be," she exclaimed "You – You're dead. I saw you die."

"This is a Dalek ship," Tyra told her. She had been here for quite a while already, snooping around as much as the Daleks had allowed her. Over the past few hours, she had died by Dalek twice and she was slowly getting tired. When Rose had shown up, she felt like things were finally moving along further.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and a white-haired girl appeared with holes all over her body. She tilted her head up, unseeing eyes darting around "Oh, my Masters… You can kill me, for I have brought your destruction," she exclaimed gleefully.

Tyra narrowed her eyes, throwing herself in front of the girl when the Daleks shot at her. The last thing she heard before she once again died was Rose's scream.

"Look," Pavale cleared his throat, gesturing to his station "Use that. It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."

Jack grinned at him "Nice, thanks. Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."

"I'm Davitch Pavale."

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale," Jack waggled his eyebrows a little.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and scoffed "There's a time and a place," he pointed out "And we still haven't found Tyra."

Pavale frowned, looking over "Wait, you mean the other girl who arrived with you?"

"Brown hair, kinda tiny," Jack nodded, holding his hand to about shoulder height.

"She – She jumped in front of a disintegrator beam," he explained quietly.

The Doctor closed his eyes "Okay… Okay, I can work with that."

"Can you?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"At least we can assume that wherever Tyra is, Rose is there too," the Doctor pointed out "Now, let's get moving."

The female programmer looked over, finally catching on to what was going on "Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?"

"Going way back," the Doctor nodded "Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations."

Jack let out a low whistle "Click on this. The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system."

The female programmer frowned "There's nothing there."

"It looks like nothing because that's what this satellite does," the Doctor muttered "Underneath the transmission there's another signal."

"Doing what?" Pavale questioned, tilting his head.

The Doctor shrugged "Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth but it's completely invisible. If I cancel out the signal." He worked on the console for a moment before a large flying saucer appeared on the holo-viewscreen.

Jack gasped "That's impossible. I know those ships. They were destroyed."

"Obviously, they survived," the Doctor bit out, his eyes glaring daggers at the hundreds of ships.

"Who did?" Lynda cut in "Who are they?"

"Two hundred ships," the Doctor whispered "More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them."

Pavale looked at him, more than a little freaked out "Half a million what?"

"Daleks."

Just as he said that, a Dalek popped into view on the holo-viewscreen with Rose standing behind it "_I will talk to the Doctor._"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, leaning back on the chair "Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!"

"_The Dalek stratagem nears completion,_" the Dalek told him "_The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene._"

"Oh, really?" the Doctor snorted "Why's that, then?"

"_We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated,_" the Dalek shot back.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes on the screen "No."

Everyone looked at him before Rose's head snapped to the side "_What?_" she breathed, her eyes wide.

"Rose? What's going on?" the Doctor frowned, his attention completely on the blonde.

"_Ouch,_" Tyra mumbled, carefully getting up from the ground. She pressed a hand to her chest with a grimace "_Well, that's uncomfortable._"

"_What… What are you?_" Rose demanded, stumbling away from the other girl.

Tyra rolled her eyes "_Not the time for that. I'll – I'll explain later. Big bad death machines have priority._"

"_You will be quiet,_" the Dalek snapped, whirling its eyestalk back to the Doctor "_What is the meaning of this negative?_"

"It means no," the Doctor pointed out.

The Dalek's eyestalk shifted "_But she – they will be destroyed._"

"No." The Doctor got up from his chair "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue them. I'm going to save them from the middle of the Dalek fleet and then I'm going to save the Earth and then – just to finish off – I'm going to wide every last, stinking Dalek out of the sky."

"_But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan,_" the Dalek pointed out in confusion.

The Doctor smirked "Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death. Rose? Tyra?"

"_Yeah?_"

"I'm coming to get you," he told them as the transmission ended.


	13. The Parting of the Ways

**The end of Series 1 is here. There will be one more chapter (a Preview) and as soon as that is up, the old version of Universal Vampire will be taken doen and this will be renamed.**

**As of the subject of Rose, there will be more explanation than in this chapter. Promise.**

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

"Ty, get down," Jack called out as soon as the Tardis had materialised around the girls. Tyra feinted to the right just in time for the Dalek that had been behind her to explode.

"You did it," Rose gasped, jumping into the Doctor's arms "Feels like I haven't seen you in years."

The Doctor pulled back "Told you I'd come and get you."

"Never doubted it," she grinned.

"I did…" the Doctor admitted, moving over to Tyra who was being fussed over by Jack. He stopped in front of her, tilting her chin up "You alright?"

Tyra nodded "Yeah. Bit sore but nothing permanent."

Rose crossed her arms with a glare before turning back to the Doctor "What about the Daleks?" The Doctor startled into motion, pulling out his sonic to examine the dead Dalek quickly. Rose tilted her head "You said they were extinct. How come they're still alive?"

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the Universe, the next minute they vanish out of time and space," Jack shrugged.

They went to fight a bigger war," the Doctor told him quietly "The Time War."

Jack's head snapped up "I thought that was just a legend."

"I was there," he admitted "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed but they took the Daleks with them." He closed his eyes "I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing."

Tyra put her hand on his arms and startled when he pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulder "There are thousands now," she pointed out quietly "I don't know. But…"

"No good stood around chin-wagging," the Doctor said with fake cheer, patting Tyra's shoulder "Human Race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answer, let's go and meet the neighbours."

Tyra snorted "Yeah, let's go and meet the Nazi Pepper Pots from Space – Trademark is still pending. Do you really think that's a good idea? Those things are crazy."

The Doctor shrugged lightly and walked out "Exterminate," the Daleks shouted "Exterminate. Exterminate." They fired their bolts at the Doctor.

"Is that it?" the Doctor grinned smugly as the bolts bounced off the extrapolator shield "Useless. Null points." He glanced over his shoulder "You can relax. That force field can hold back anything."

"Alm…" Jack started but Tyra quickly leapt onto his back, slapping her hand over his mouth.

The Doctor raised an amused eyebrow at them "Thank you, Ty."

She nodded her head before grimacing in disgust "Gross. Did you just lick my hand?"

"No?" Jack shot her an innocent expression that didn't fit him at all.

"Shush," the Doctor waved his hand in their direction. He went back to staring at the silent Daleks in front of him. All their eyestalks were focussed on him "Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might have removed all your emotions… but I reckon that right down, deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear." The Daleks' eyestalks shifted around "Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So, tell me, hoe did you survive the Time War?"

A booming voice echoed through the ship "They survived through me." The lights flared to reveal a large apparatus which looked like a giant exploded Dalek casing. Inside, there was a blue-skinned, one-eyes mutant that was observing everything proudly.

The Doctor's eyes widened "Rose, Ty, Captain… this is the Emperor of the Daleks."

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek Race died in your inferno but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive," the Emperor cried out.

"I get it," the Doctor interrupted.

"Do not interrupt," a Dalek yelled out which was quickly followed by two others.

Jack and Rose recoiled at the suddenness of the whole thing but Tyra was just watching them curiously. She wouldn't die, should they start shooting again, so she was ready to defend the Doctor if necessary. They were still inside the extrapolator shield but Tyra wasn't sure how long the Doctor would still stay in there. It was fascinating though. Esther had been very specific with what was able to kill them. Only the wood of the White Oak tree. Not even any White Oak but just the wood from the one that had grown in their village – the one Niklaus and Elijah had burned down.

"I think you're forgetting something," the Doctor smirked, trying to keep the attention on him at all times. He wasn't sure how long the extrapolator would hold up since it still wasn't compatible with the Tardis "I'm the Doctor. And if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So, if anybody's gonna shut up, it's you." He spat the last word harshly, making the Daleks roll back a little. The Doctor grinned victoriously and turned back to the Emperor "Okay, then. So, where were we?"

The Emperor looked down at the man "We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead?" the Doctor tilted his head.

Tyra shook her head "Scratch that. Doesn't that make them half-human at least?"

"Those words are blasphemy," the Emperor roared.

The Dalek closest to the group whirred around "Do not blaspheme." Its words were once again chorused but this time all of the Daleks on board of the ship joined in.

"Okay," Tyra muttered, wiggling her finger in her ear "You didn't have to shoute."

The Emperor was still fuming when he continued "Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" the Doctor questioned, sounding completely baffled. He had put a hand on Tyra's shoulder to pull her back once she had opened her mouth again when the Emperor's words had registered.

"I reached into the dirt and made new life," the Emperor proclaimed "I am the God of all Daleks."

"Worship him. Worship him. Worship him."

The Doctor turned away from them towards Jack and Rose, his eyes wild "They're insane," he breathed "Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence and that makes them more deadly than ever. We're going."

"You may no leave my presence," the Emperor demanded but they had already turned and walked back into the Tardis with the Daleks watching their retreat.

When another Dalek shouted for them to stop, the Doctor just grinned mockingly before shutting the doors behind him. His shoulders dropped, his head falling against the inside of the door, listening to the battle cries of the Daleks echoing in his ears.

Tyra walked forward, gently placing her hand on his shoulder "Come on, Doctor. Let's go back to the others."

He nodded silently and went to steer the Tardis back to Floor 500 "Turn everything up," the Doctor called, marching out of the Tardis "All transmitters full of power, wide open. Now! Do it."

Pavale frowned "What does it do?"

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?" the Doctor questioned.

Pavale shrugged his shoulders "Well, we tried to warn them but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programs."

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless," the Doctor remarked before noticing Lynda next to him "Lynda, what are you still doing onboard?" He rounded on Pavale "I told you to evacuate everyone."

"She wouldn't go," he defended himself.

Lynda smiled shyly "Didn't want to leave you." Rose turned her head, looking her up and down carefully and Tyra grimaced at the look on her face. Maybe it had all been a bit much for Rose recently. With thinking she was going to die, the Daleks and finding out about Tyra's vampirism. Although she had reacted even worse than Tyra had anticipated. Let's just say that their talk had not gone well and leave it at that.

The female programmer stepped forward "There weren't enough shuttles anyway or I wouldn't be here," she added "We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero."

"Oh, my God," Pavale gasped "The Fleet is moving. They're on their way."

The Doctor ran to the conduits, pulling out all sorts of cables "Dalek plan. Big mistake because what have they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?"

"You've got to be kidding," Jack gaped in disbelief.

"Give the man a medal," the Doctor nodded.

Tyra looked from one man to the other "How about you repeat that for people who have no idea what you're talking about?"

Jack shook his head "A Delta Wave?"

"Well, that wasn't as helpful as I had hoped," Tyra muttered.

"What's a Delta Wave?" Rose frowned.

"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy," Jack explained "Fries your brain, stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbecued."

The Doctor grinned "And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks."

"Well, get started and do it," Lynda exclaimed.

Tyra tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at the Doctor's look "I have a question. I might not completely understand but… Do you even have the time to build that? Because that Fleet is moving awfully fast."

"Wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about…" he contemplated it for a moment "Oh… About three days. How long till the Fleet arrives?"

Pavale turned to the monitor and sagged "Twenty-two minutes."

The Doctor froze for a moment before he nodded "Okay, this is what we do."

* * *

Not even fifteen minutes later, Jack had the extrapolator programmed to shield the Game Station. He had bossed Tyra around a bit to get things done quicker but the girl hadn't complained "We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky but it doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?"

Jack nodded "They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, they want to stop the Doctor. That means they've got to get to this level, Five Hundred. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, Five Hundred to Four Nine Five. So they'll penetrate the station below that at level Four Nine Four and fight their way up."

"Who are they fighting?" Pavale questioned.

"Us."

Pavale snorted "And what are we fighting with?"

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets," Jack pointed out "That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open."

The woman raised her eyebrows "There's six of us."

"Rose, you can help me. I need all these wires stripped bare," the Doctor called without looking up "Ty, you can help them to set up but I need your help after that."

"Right, now there's four of us," the woman corrected.

Jack rolled his eyes at her "Then let's move it. Into the lift. Isolate the controls."

Pavale and his colleague ran off while Lynda stayed back for a moment longer "I just want to say – er – thanks, I suppose and I'll do my best."

"Me too," the Doctor smiled, shaking her hand.

Jack sighed "It's been fun but I guess this is goodbye."

"Don't talk like that," Rose chided "The Doctor's going to do it. You just watch him."

Jack smiled at her naivety "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward." He cupped the Doctor's face and pressed a kiss to his lips "Rose, you are worth fighting for." He leaned forward to kiss her as well. He waggled his eyebrows at Tyra and held out his hand for her "See you in hell."

* * *

Down on Floor Zero, Jack and Tyra had jumped onto a pile of crates "One last time," Jack called out, firing a machine gun into the air to get the attention of the people there "Any more volunteers? There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence."

"Don't listen to him," Rodrick cried "There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago."

"Did they really?" Tyra scoffed, narrowing her eyes on the man "How many lives are you willing to bet? I met the Daleks before and trust me. If they get down here, you won't survive."

A few people hesitatingly stepped up to them. Jack nodded "Thanks. As for the rest of you, the Daleks will enter the station at Floor Four Nine Four and as far as I can tell, they'll head up, not down. But that's not a promise."

"Daleks are predictable in only one aspect. They are going to kill you if they find you. Do you really want to take the risk and go out without a fight? I thought you wanted to win these games. Where is that determination now, huh?" When most of the Humans just blinked at her, Tyra shook her head in disgust "Keep quiet. And if you hear us dying above, hear the Daleks killing us… Maybe then you can feel good about your selves." She jumped from the crates "Remember. Not a sound."

Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders, steering her and the volunteers to the elevator. A few more had joined but they were still massively outnumbered by the Daleks.

"You okay on your own now?" Tyra asked, leaning against the back of the elevator "If not, I can stay and help. The Doctor can cope without me."

Jack shook his head "We'll be fine." He ran his hands down her arms, grabbing her hands gently "I'm going to miss you, my little Valkyrie."

Tyra froze for a moment before she freed one of her hands, slugging him in the stomach to make him let go "Sorry, Jackie. You're not my type. Bit too young."

"Who isn't, though?" Jack laughed, ruffling her hair "Be careful."

"I should be telling you that. Not the other way around," Tyra smiled lightly, shooing him away when the elevator doors opened to Floor Four Nine Four.

* * *

"Suppose," Rose spoke up quietly.

When she didn't continue, the Doctor looked up "What?"

"Nothing," she shook her head.

"You said suppose," the Doctor pointed out.

Rose shook her head "No, I was just thinking. I mean, obviously, you can't but… You've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?"

"As soon as the Tardis lands in that second, I become part of the events," he explained sadly "Stuck in the timeline."

"Yeah, I thought it'd be something like that," Rose muttered.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder when he heard quiet footsteps but turned back to Rose "There's another thing the Tardis could do. It could take us away. We could leave. Let history take its course. We go to Marbella in 1989."

"Or Barcelona, right?" Tyra shook her head, making Rose jump from her sudden appearance "You'd never leave and you know it."

"No, but you could ask," the Doctor sighed "Never even occurred to you two, did it?"

Rose grinned "Well, I'm just too good."

"The Delta Wave's started building," the Doctor remarked "How long does it need?" He and Rose ran over to a console.

"Is that bad?" Rose blinked. The Doctor just looked at her "Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?"

The Doctor straightened with a sudden gasp "Rose Tyler, you're a genius. We can do it. If I use the Tardis to cross my old timeline. Yes!" He ran past Tyra into the Tardis. Tyra raised an eyebrow when Rose followed him. Then again, she had heard his hearts missing a beat "Hold that down and keep position."

"What's it do?" Rose questioned.

The Doctor threw up several levers "Cancels the buffers. If I'm very clever and I'm more than clever – I'm brilliant – I might just save the world. Or rip it apart…" he trailed off.

"I'd go for the first," Rose laughed.

"Me too," the Doctor agreed "Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game Station and get Ty. Hold on." He ran out and stopped amid the mess of cables. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, pointing his sonic screwdriver at the Tardis. The engines started at the same time as he caught Tyra's eye.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Rose shouted through the door "Can I take my hand off? It's moving." She banged on the door "Doctor, let me out. Let me out. Doctor, what have you done?" It was the last thing they could hear before the Tardis dematerialised.

Tyra walked over to the Doctor and nudged him gently "You did the right thing," she told him.

Before the Doctor could reply, Jack's voice came over the Comms "_Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be different numbers on every screen. Can you read them out to me?_"

"She's not here," the Doctor said.

"_Of all the times to take a leak,_" Jack grumbled.

Tyra snorted "He took her home, actually."

"_But not you,_" Jack pointed out.

"I wouldn't have left and you know it," Tyra told him.

Jack nodded and turned his head to look at the Doctor who had started working again "_The Delta Wave… is it ever going to be ready?_"

"_Tell him the truth, Doctor,_" the booming voice of the Emperor sounded. They all looked up to see the 'God of all Daleks' projected onto the largest monitor "_There is every possibility that the Delta Wave could be complete but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path with no distinction between Human and Dalek. All things will die. By your hand._"

"_Doctor… the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth,_" Jack whispered.

The Emperor moved in its tank "_You would destroy Daleks and Humans together. If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?_"

"There are colonies out there," the Doctor countered darkly "The Human Race would survive in some shape or form but you're the only Daleks in existence. The whole Universe is in danger if I let you live." He looked over at Jack on the other screen "Do you see, Jack? Tyra? That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing." The Doctor grabbed Tyra's hand, clutching at it tightly "Die as Humans or live as Dalek. What would you do?"

Jack looked at him for a moment "_Keep working._"

"_But they will exterminate you,_" the Emperor yelled.

The Captain smirked "_Never doubted him, never will._"

The Doctor grinned in happiness when Tyra voiced her opinion as well. She wouldn't have gone with him, had she had any doubts. He accepted her with barely a word against it. Sure, he didn't like her killing but he was entitled to that opinion. Especially since he was as old as he was "Now, you tell me, God of Daleks, because there's one thing I never worked out. The words Bad Wold, spread across time and space, everywhere, drawing me in. How did you manage that?"

"_I did nothing._"

"Oh, come on," the Doctor scoffed "There are no secrets now, your worship."

The Emperor shook its 'head' "_They are not part of my design. This is the Truth of God._" The Doctor and Tyra looked up at the BadWolf Corporation sign on the wall and shared an uneasy look. Everywhere they had been… Everywhere since her and Rose's first adventure.

"Do you really trust me that much?" the Doctor asked after they were alone again.

Tyra smiled "Even if I die here. I have lived a long life, Doctor. Too long, if you ask me. A thousand years… I trust you to do the right thing."

"_How long till the Fleet arrives?_" Jack called through the Comms.

Pavale shifted "_They've accelerated._"

"_This is it, ladies and gentlemen. We are at war,_" Jack said as rows and rows of Dalek ships approached.

Everything turned quiet for a while… They all just anticipated the Daleks' arrival in tense silence. The Doctor was still fiddling with the cables, connecting them as fast as he could "_You were right,_" Lynda breathed "T_hey're forcing the airlock on Four Nine Four_." The whole satellite shook, announcing the arrival of the pepper-pots.

"_Okay, activate internal lasers. Slice them up,_" Jack called.

Lynda hummed "_Defences have gone offline. The Dalek's have overridden the lot. Advance guard has made it to Four Nine Five._"

"Jack, how are we doing?" the Doctor asked.

"_Four Nine Five should be good,_" the Captain remarked "_I like Four Nine Five._"

"_They're flying up the ventilation shafts. No, wait a minute,_" Lynda paused for a moment "_Oh, my God. Why are they doing that? They're going down._" Tyra heard the sound of the people downstairs dying until Lynda shut it off "_Floor Zero… They killed them all._"

"Is this a bad moment to say 'I told you so'?" Tyra spoke up, sarcasm heavy in her voice "Because I did."

The Doctor paused in his work to show Tyra how to connect the things she was holding "Lynda," he called over his shoulder "What's happening on Earth?"

"_The Fleet's descending,_" she replied quietly "_They're bombing whole continents. Europa… Pacifica… the New America Alliance… Australasia's just… gone._" It didn't take long until they heard the sound of firing directly below them "_I have a problem. They've found me._"

"You'll be fine," the Doctor reassured her with a look on his face that was everything but reassuring "That side of the station's reinforced against meteors."

She laughed tearfully "_I hope so. You know what they say about Earth workmanship._" The noise of sparks overpowered her voice as if someone – or something was trying to cut through metal "_They're surrounding me._" Glass smashed and Lynda screamed before everything got quiet. Quiet except for the gunshots still below them.

"They killed her." The Doctor closed his eyes, his voice sounding slightly choked.

Tyra wrapped her arms around his waist "They did… I'm sorry."

"_Last man standing,_" Jack yelled over the Comms "_For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them._"

"_Finish that thing and kill mankind,_" the Emperor added.

"Not like you haven't already killed most of them," Tyra huffed, glaring at the screen that once again held the image of the Emperor.

"_You've got twenty seconds maximum,_" Jack told them as he ran out of bullets. He closed his eyes and threw away the guns.

"_Exterminate,_" the Daleks cried.

"_I kinda figure that,_" Jack muttered, bracing himself.

The Doctor pulled up a lever on the device he put together "It's ready." Daleks entered and surrounded the two time travellers from all sides "You really want to think about this because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."

"I am immortal," the Emperor cried on the screen.

Tyra scoffed "Yeah? Technically, so am I but I doubt that's gonna do me any good."

"Do you want to put that to the test?" the Doctor challenged, throwing her a look that said to keep quiet.

The Emperor drew himself up. Though how he managed any of that was beyond Tyra… He was a freaking mutant thing in a tube after all. Nothing to draw up "I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor, the Great Exterminator."

"I'll do it," the Doctor warned, his voice shaking.

"Then prove yourself, Doctor. What are you, coward or killer?"

The Time Lord tightened his grip on the lever but pulled back at the last second "Coward. Any day." He turned to Tyra, shame colouring his features "I'm so sorry."

"I told you before," Tyra murmured "It's your choice."

The Emperor would have smirked if he had a mouth "Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness and you will die."

One of the Daleks in front of the Doctor raised its laser arm and fired. Tyra quickly pulled in front of the Doctor only to take the beam in the chest "Ty," the Doctor called before her world went black.

* * *

She groaned when the blackness slowly faded "Damn, that hurt… Again," she cursed, sitting up with another low curse. Tyra took in her surroundings and blinked when she saw that she was back on the Tardis "What happened?"

"You died for me, Tyra," the Doctor pointed out, leaning against the console heavily. He grimaced as white, hot pain flashed through him.

"Are you alright?"

He smiled "I'm fine. Well, I will be. Oh, Rose is waking up."

Rose? Tyra looked around in confusion until she spotted the other girl. When had she come back? "What happened?" Rose questioned, sitting up.

"Don't you remember?" the Doctor questioned curiously.

Rose shook her head "It's like there was singing…"

"That's right," the Doctor snorted "I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

"I was at home," Rose continued before shaking her head "No, I wasn't. I was in the Tardis and there was this light. I can't remember anything else."

From her point near the console, Tyra could see the Doctor's skin shimmering orange and immediately realised what was going on with him "Rose Tyler… Tyra Mikaelson… I was going to take you to so many places. Barcelona." Here he winked at Tyra "Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses. Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke and it's still funny."

Tyra shook her head "It was never funny."

"Then why can't we go?" Rose demanded.

"Maybe you will and maybe I will. But not like this."

Rose frowned "You're not making sense."

"I might never make sense again. I might have two heads or no head. Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement. But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with…" The Doctor doubled over in pain. He stumbled back when Rose got closer "Stay back."

Rose looked at him tearfully "Doctor, tell me what's going on."

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex and no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body's dying," he explained.

Tyra winced "That sounds painful as hell actually."

"Can't you do something?" Rose questioned, staring at him intently.

The Doctor nodded "Yeah, I'm doing it now. Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except it means I'm going to change and I'm not going to see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go…"

"Don't say that," Rose cut in.

"Rose," the Doctor warned "Tyra, can you make sure she doesn't get closer?" Tyra nodded and walked over to Rose, ready to hold her back in case she was going to try anything stupid "Before I go, I just want to tell you two that you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I." Tyra wrapped her arm around Rose just in time as golden light burst out of the Doctor's body.

"Let me go," Rose screamed, fighting against the grip Tyra had on her "Let me go, you monster. We have to help him."

"You can't," Tyra told her, squinting against the bright glow.

It didn't take long until the Doctor started changing. When the glow died down, he was completely different. His hair was longer, he was thinner but the thing that annoyed Tyra the most was that he was probably another one or two inches taller than he was before. And as such a lot taller than her "Hello," the new Doctor grinned before he frowned "Okay. Ooh, new teeth. That's weird. So, where was I? Oh, that's right. Barcelona."


	14. Preview of Sequel

_The newly regenerated Doctor started dashing around the console, flicking switches left and right "6 PM… Tuesday…" Tyra shook her head at him when he grinned at her "October 5006… On the way to Barcelona." He straightened up, facing both girls "Now then… How do I look?" Tyra was about to open her mouth when he slapped a hand over it "No, no, no, no no no no no no. No. Don't tell me."_

"_Then don't ask," Tyra grumbled, shoving his hand away._

_The Doctor huffed before starting to pat his new body down "Let's see… Two legs, two arms, two hands…" He laughed before a frown appeared on his face as he twisted one of his wrists around "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle…" A second later, the Doctor moved on, his hand flying to his hair "HAIR… I'm not bald. Oh, oh. Big hair."_

"_Very big hair," Tyra snorted, glancing at Rose out of the corner of her eye. She was staring at the Doctor with wide eyes and growing anger. Tyra grimaced. This wasn't going to end well. Especially since Rose had been more or less angry since she found out about Tyra being a vampire. _

_"Sideburns," the Doctor cheered, fingers trailing down the sides of his head "I've got sideburns… Or really bad skin."_

_Tyra sighed when he tilted his head at her "Why not look into a mirror? Would make things so much easier." He continued to look at her until she continued "It's sideburns." This Doctor really seemed to be the complete opposite of the former Doctor. Actually, he was more like one of those pretty boys that Rose liked to drag along. And he was quite a bit younger looking than his previous regeneration. He was still taller than Tyra, though… Which was annoyingly unfair but she doubted he would ever get close to her height, no matter how often he regenerated. _

_The Doctor continued inspecting himself "Little bit thinner," he remarked, slapping his stomach "That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it." He froze, shifting his shoulder "I… have got… a mole," he breathed, sounding as though he just cured cancer "I can feel it."_

"_Rose?" Tyra spoke up when her breathing turned harsher. She looked scared of the new Doctor and more than ready to attack._

_The Doctor hadn't noticed, still rambling about his new mole. At least, he was still as oblivious as the last one. Tyra shook her head, turning her attention to him while keeping Rose in her sight "Between my shoulder blades. There's a mole. That's alright. Love the mole." He turned to Rose "Go on then, tell me. What do you think?"_

"_Who are you?" Rose asked him, frozen to her place by one of the corals._


End file.
